Right Now
by Concupiscence.Fixation
Summary: Rock doesn’t see the point anymore. Revy’s starting to feel things she doesn’t want to understand, and hates it. What happens when the walking dead start to change? RxR
1. Ch 1 Feel

Revy stood quietly in the shadows cast by the building behind her as she watched Rock. He had been staring a few feet from the back of the building for hours now; just staring at the darkened and star speckled sky. Lately, Revy found that she just couldn't stop him from popping in and out of her mind. She hated herself for it, and a part of her wished that she would have shot him before the idea had ever crossed her mind to try and ransomed him off. Her mind flashed back on the events that took place earlier that day, and she thought about all of it against her will once again.

They had all completed another delivery and went to collect the other half of the money owed to them. The cheep fucking dagos had tried to short um'; saying that they had changed their minds on the price. Shit went bad of course and guns were pulled. One of the greasy haired basterds had shoved his piece into the back of Rocks head, and even had the balls to cock back the hammer. She and Dutch were the only two carrying; Rock was soo stupid he never did, and Benny hadn't come along. Rock stayed quiet, it was what caused her to glance at him. Usually he would be the first to try talking to everyone, in an attempt to come to some bullshit non-violent compromise. Surprisingly, he was good at it. This time though, this time he just stared at the wall across from him, eyes distant and passive, like he wanted the mama's boy to pull the trigger. Revy felt her heart skip a beat and didn't know why. It was Dutch who talked everyone into putting their guns down. Rock just kept his empty stare. The cheep fuckers finally paid everything that was owed, and they all left.

When they got back to the 'office' all she wanted to do was go out drinking so she could try and forget the look in Rock's eyes, and try to ignore why it bothered her so much. That didn't happen of course. Benny was playing with his fagy little computers, Dutch was working on the Lagoon, and all Rock would say was the he "didn't feel like it". He was still too silence for comfort, and even had the same look in his eyes from earlier. It frustrated the hell out of her and she had the biggest urge to pumble his ass and scream at him until he snapped out of whatever funk he was in. Before she could do any of it tough, he just stood up and left.

So here she was, standing in the shadows like some creepy stalker. She continued to just watching Rock as he watched nothing. _What the hell's his problem! Who the fuck just stands outside at night and stares off into space?! I'm gonna talk to that white collared bitch and find out what's up his ass._ Revy took a deep breath and stepped out from her shadow casted hole. She strolled over to his side, he said nothing. She stuck her hand into his dress shirt pocket, and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Again he said nothing, he didn't even move as she did it. Fishing her lighter out of her cut-off jean shorts she light two smokes at once, and extended one to Rock without looking. He took it without saying anything. They smoked in silence for what felt to her like an eternity before she broke. "Alright partner, what's eating you?"

Rock said nothing.

She bit back a growl. "What are you too good to talk to me now?!"

"No. No Revy." He answered still unmoving in a distant voice.

Her chest tightened for a second at hearing his tone. She hated it, and hated him for it. "Ahh! What the fuck! What's up with this fucking depressed shit? The last time you were like this was after we came back from Japan, what the hell!" Her screams echoed through the heat- heavy night air as she flicked her cigarette butt onto the ground and stomped it out with her boot.

Rock finally turned and looked at her. "You told me before that we're the walking dead…. I always thought that even though we are, we can still at least **feel **alive. I get it now though. By become one of the walking dead, we give up what constitutes life; we give up our freedom to truly decide, we give up what we love to keep from ceasing to exist-" he paused for a second and looked Revy directly in the eyes. "Dying. We trade in hope, morals, and all emotion. We trade it in for money, and violence, and a chance to keep what we, the living dead, have come to call life. We're already dead Revy; the only difference is that for some reason, we're still walking around. I just can't find a reason to keep fighting so desperately against that one last thing that separates us from those six feet under."

His words, the look he still wore, the way he looked at her, it all burnt up Revy's last bit of patients. She drove her fist as hard as she could into the side of his face, and followed through with it.

Rock went down hard, and the dark world around him swam with color for a moment. He tried to refocus his eyes, but before he could he felt hands on his collar and found he was being lifted to his feet; only be slammed roughly into the brick wall a few feet behind him. "Re-vy" he crocked out in agony and confusion.

"Shut the fuck up!" She snarled as she slammed his back into the wall as hard as she could again. Rock shut his eyes in pain as he collided with the bricks. Revy growled low and dangerously. "If you ever- **ever**- say anything like that again, I'll kill you myself! And another thing, wipe that fucking look off your face! I can't stand it, it drives me crazy!"

Rock could feel blood running slowly from the corner of his mouth, and his body was white hot with pain. He opened his eyes slowly, and chocked past the pain. "Why?"

Revy pulled him forward even further than before, and slammed him into the wall so hard that his head snapped back with the impact. "I never thought that you, of all people would be so stupid! All of this gloom and doom shit is because you don't '**feel** alive'?"

Rock's world was spinning and he couldn't even suck in an even enough breath to answer back. He gave a weak "uh-uh."

"For fucks sake Rock. Don't you **feel **this?" She asked in a voice that was almost soft as she jerked him lightly against the wall. She watched as his eyes squeezed together tighter, and he gave another grown of acknowledgment. Revy loosed her grip on his collar and slipped her right hand up to cup the side of his swelling face. She lightly stroked her thumb back and forth just below his lip; to whip away the blood. "And this?" She asked calmly as she felt his pulse jump in his neck and watched his eye lids go from painfully tight to simply closed.

He gave another quite, "Uh-uh."

Revy took his hand with her free one and placed it over her heart as she leaned into him; resting her cheek against his. Her words were barely above a whisper as she blew them into his ear. "And this?"

Rock's eyes shot open at the unexpected tenderness of her actions. "Y-yes." He whispered back. "Revy I-"

"Shut up, I'm not done yet…. You can feel pain." She moved her lips closer to his ear; and squeezed his hand that she had placed over her heart and trapped under hers. "I know you can feel my heart beat…. and I can feel yours. Don't cling any stupid concept of life, if you're going to cling anything, do it to the hunt for adrenalin. Guess you could call it feeling. **Feel** the moment Rock, **live** in it- for it. We might be the walking dead, but you seem to be missing the most important thing;** right now**, we're alive."

Rock felt his heart skip a beat before it pounded to life in a quick rhythm.

Revy felt his hearts' rhythm change. "I think you've finally got what it all means now."

There was the hint of laughter in her voice and he smiled. "Ya Revy, I've got it now."

**Please Read**

So here's what up with the story, I originally wrote it a while back; it was one of those things that just wouldn't leave you alone until you did something with it. I decided to post it because there hasn't been a lot of Black Lagoon FF flow as of late and figured every one could use something. Here's where you all, as the readers/audience come in: do I keep it as a one shot or make it into something more? I feel it has potential, but if it's not good (I don't think it's one of my best works) why continue? Let me know what you think. I'd be happy to continue with it and add more chapters if people actually like it and want more. Thanks for reading and for any feedback.


	2. Ch 2 Alive

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, and with each passing second Rock could feel Revy's body relaxing inch by inch. He hesitantly brought his free hand up and wrapped it around her slender frame. She went ridged and he thought he had blowing it, but she quickly went limp again and let out a long breath that thrilled him to the core. "Revy…."

"If you open your mouth about this to anyone, I'll kill you." She threatened in a low mutter.

"I know." He uttered back, as he daringly started to rub his hand up and down the length of her back in an effort to reassure her. He couldn't help but take notice at how quickly things had changed between them. Revy was still such a mystery to him even after all the time they spent together. She had beaten the hell out of him only to become tender minutes later, and now it was like he was trying to comfort her. On the surface of things, she seemed to be a simple person of greed and desires; but he had come to notice that there was so much more to her then she ever let anyone see.

His mind was brought back to reality as Revy let out a quit and unexpected sigh; it was a sound he never thought he would hear from her. Revy's hand slid from his cheek down to his throat, where she then glided it to the base of his neck. Rock's heart was beating so fast he felt as if it was going to burst. He suddenly ached to touch her in ways that would bring more sounds from her; craving to feel every inch of her body. He knew it would be suicidal to try anything though, so he drew a breath in through his nose to try and calm himself. Her aroma assaulted his scenes however, and he found himself nuzzling into her exposed neck. She smelled of cigarette smoke and violence- a combined odor of gun powder and metal- and the faintest whiff of the summers' heat brought sweat lingered on her skin. It was strangely intoxicating. He breather her in deeper. Underneath the surface of smoke and violence, he recognized the smell of body wash and shampoo; a soft fragrance that was neither fruity nor flowery, but just… something. Idly Rock wondered what she would task like, and before he could think better of it brushed his lips along her skin. As soon as he skimmed his lips along her skin he felt her hand that was pressing his to her chest convulse.

He figured he was done for, but she surprised him again when she only let out a shutter. Rock felt his more primal side take over in a rush at hearing and feeling her reaction. He kissed her neck and drew her into his mouth, nibbling slightly. Revy's arms abruptly wrapped around his back and he continued tasting her. He drew her ear lobe into his mouth next, and sucked it gently; she shivered and bit back the grown that threaded to escape her lips. That did it, hearing her make such a sound snapped his last bit of restraint, and he ceased her lips in a burning kiss. To his amazement her lips felt soft against his, and she tasted like heaven to him; though he knew hell would be more accrete to anyone else. Revy licked along his lower lip and excitement jolted through him. He plunged his tong into her mouth, and pulled her tighter against him; wanting desperately to feel every part of her touching every part of him. She nipped his exploring tong and the shock of it made him instinctively moved to pull away, but she followed his body with mouth and hands; shoving him back against the wall in the process. Her body hit his with such surprising force that he straightened up, flabbergast.

Revy rose on her toes to deepen the kiss and in the process, slid against the straining bulge that had built in his pants. One of them let out a muffled moan and he wasn't sure which of them it was; he wasn't sure he cared. Their kiss held urgency now, and Revy's hands moved to his chest where they balled themselves into his shirt. Intern, he let his hands start to wander around her perfect back. Revy's gripping hands and slack body quickly went ridged though. She pressed harshly against him and shoved herself away. Their kiss broke, and both of them were breathing heavily as she took two shaky steps back away from him.

Rock knew he was done for now, any second she would take out her custom Beretta 9mm's and shoot several holes into him. He tensed and waited. Nothing. He looked at her face for any indication of what she was going to do- or at least he tried to. Revy had turned her head away from him and even in the dark he noticed the ridged way she stood. The silence was awkward and he was about to apologize when she simply walked away.

Unable to speak, the only thing he could do was watch as she walked off. Not sure what to think or say, or even do, Rock slid down along the buildings wall until he was sitting on the hard concrete. _What the hell was that all about? Why did I… why did she let me do it?_

He closed his eyes and tried to clear his head that was still fuzzy from the beating Revy had given him, not to mention their little heated make-out session. Rock knew he had a thing for the dangerous and loudly abrasive gun slinger for a while, hell he had even had dreams about her; dreams that he though before what had just happened she would have killed him for. He couldn't help it though: she was an oddly perfect combination of violence and beauty with the promise death. It was one thing to dream, but actually touching her like he just had, and having her react like she had, it was unbelievable. _But now what? What the hell am I supposed to do?! It's not like she's the type of person to let something like that go. Or is she? Do I act like nothing happened and hope she doesn't kill me? Do I apologize and hope she doesn't kill me? Or do I do it again and hope she doesn't castrate me? _

"I'm so screwed." Rock mumbled to himself as he opened his eyes and let out a long breath. _No matter what I decide to do, she'll need time to cool down. After that guess I'll just wait and see how she acts so I know how to react._ A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he reached for a cigarette. He allowed the twitch of lips become a full smile as he let himself remember the smell of Revy's skin and the feel of her hungry lips against his.

AN: Sorry that the update took so long, I wasn't 100% sure where to go with it and then life got in the way. So sticking with a similar train of thought, I have good news and bad. The good news is that there will be more chapters for this story! The bad, is that again I'm not sure where I want to go with it and due to life being life, an update will not occur until January. A fact which I am not pleases about and am sorry for. Personally, slow updates irritate me and I hate irritating people with them. Again, any constructive input and ideas are more that welcome and appreciated. Reviews make every author happy. Please let me know what you all think so I know where to go with this. Thanks to everyone who commented and added me to updates (or similar additions). Until the new year…. Everyone out there have fun!


	3. Ch 3 In The Moment

AN: First, I would like to apologize to all who read this story for the (rather lengthy) delay in its update. Secondly, I would again like to thank everyone who has commented and added this story or flagged it in some way.

Initially, I had no idea where to go with this story (and am still 'winging it'); then I couldn't find the time to actually sit down and write it. Good news is that I have hammered out another chapter and that there will be more to come! The bad, is that I'm still unsure of where I'm going with it. Input and comments are always welcome and so are PMs. If anyone does PM me, I grantee I _will_ make the time to respond. Thanks and of course, enjoy.

PS: More 'action' in this chapter!

As soon as her bedroom door closed behind her, Revy drove her fist into the wall. The thin plastering buckled in protest but it wasn't enough; her rage had chosen the spot of wall right in front of a support beam. Frustrated she beat her fist into the wall again and again- and with such force- that the wooden beam cracked and the wall was left with a hole in it four times the size of her fist. Hand numb with pain, Revy finally stopped and let her head fall against the offending wall. After a few moments, she finally lifted her head up and pulled her hand out form the hole she'd created in her rage. Seeing the bloody smear marks around the smashed and gaping opening, she groaned in irritation. _Great, juts fucking great! Now not only is Dutch gonna nag me to repair the hole, but I'm gonna have to dress these fucking cuts! _With an irritated growl, she kicked the wall before kicking off her boots and heading down to the office for medical supplies.

Throwing the office door open, Revy was greeted by an empty room and was glad that the other members of the crew were busy. _At least every one's got other shit to do right now; it would suck ass to have to try and explain to Dutch why my hand is all fucked up… or have Benny make some sly fucking_ _comment._ Turning on the water in the mini kitchen, Revy stuck her hand underneath its flow and winced as it washed over the tender skin. _Stupid fucking Rock, this is all his fuckin' fault! If that jack ass hadn't been acting like such a pussy then this wouldn't have happened!_

'_You approached him, dumbass!' _A little voice shouted in the back of her head.

Revy growled at herself and allowed the water to continue to clean her hand as she thought. _Why the fucking hell did I try and make him feel better?! It's not my fault if he's too big of a sissy to enjoy life!_ Rock's solemn face flashed through her mind and she suddenly felt bad again; which only caused her to become more enraged. _I can't believe I was nice to him like that! What the fuck was I thinking! What the fuck was he thinking; touching me like that! He has no fucking right! _

'_It was nice, though. No one has ever made you feel so much by doing so little'. _The little voice in the back of her head whispered again.

"Fuck me." Revy mumbled to herself as she turned off the water. "What a fucking mess I've gotten myself into."

She was so inside her own head that she hadn't even realized the main door open and close as Rock walked in and slumped down into the puffy chair in the 'living room'.

With a sigh, Revy fetched the smaller First-Aid Kit from on top of the fridge before grabbing a beer and heading toward the designated living room within the Lagoon Companies office. She stopped dead in her tracks however as she noticed the figure slouching in the chair.

Rock's head shot up in surprise when he heard the fridge door close; thinking he had been alone.

Revy's good hand gripped the First-Aid Kit tighter as she stared at Rock from the short distance across the room. Awkward silence filled the air as they look intently at one another.

_Fuck this! If he's not going to say anything then I'm just gonna pretend like he's not here!_ Silently, Revy took her usual seat on the couch as she set the Kit down on the coffee table in front of her. With one hand, she popped the top of her bear can open before opening the Kit and rummaging around in it for what needed.

Rock sat still and watched soundlessly before his curiosity and concern got the better of him. "What happened to your hand?" Waiting for a response, he watched as she bit the inside of her cheek and roughly smeared rubbing alcohol over her battered knuckles. "Revy, what happened?" He questioned again.

She grimaced and couldn't help but take in a sharp audible breath as the liquid burned into the cuts. "Fuck. Off. Pansy." Revy pushed out in a low voice; hoping that she sounded more angry than pained.

"If you keep digging at that like you are, it's only going to make it hurt more." Rock stated simply.

"Oh really?! What are you a fuckin' doctor now too, Mr. White Collar?" She spat out; annoyed by how much he seemed to care.

"No, but I do have some medical training. Besides, some things are just common sense." The edge of anger was starting to work its way into his voice.

Revy huffed as she threw down the cotton ball and soaked another swab with disinfectant. "Fucker." She mumbled under her breath as she rubbed even harder at the cuts in annoyance. "Thinks he knows everything!"

"I can hear you, you know?!" Rock took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he tried to calm himself. "What happened to your hand, Revy?"

"YOU DID!" She shouted as she slammed her hand down on the coffee table and stood up. "This is your fucking fault, you dickhead fucker!"

"My fault?!" Rock stood up and screamed back. "MY FAULT! How the hell is your bleeding hand my fault?!"

"AHH!" Revy growled in frustration as she kicked the table away, sending the medical supplies and beer flying. "You're such a cock-sucking fuckin' dumbass!"

Completely enraged by the way she was treating him, Rock stepped up into Revy's personal space so much that he had to look down to continue yelling at her. "Christ, what the hell's your problem, Revy! All you do is push people away; you act like no one is good enough to even talk to you! Shit, God forbid if I actually care! What's your fucking problem?!"

Her reply came out in a desperate scream laced with confusion. "YOU ARE!" She yelled in a shaky voice and shoved him back. "You make me want things I know I can never have, God damn it!!!" Her confession must have revealed more than she had intended because the next thing she was able to register was the feel of Rock's lips crushing hers.

Still pissed and now baffled, Revy tried to push away; but he only wrapped his arms around her and kissed her harder. Using her hand- that wasn't trapped between their bodies- she clenched it into a fist as she drove it into Rock's ribs. His lips broke away from hers as he let out a pain filled groan. It was then that Revy noticed his arms were still wrapped around her; wrapped in such a way as to cradle her against him- not crush her. _He… they way he's touching me… like even now he- he's…._ The realization sparked so much desire that she no longer cared about the results or implications; **right now** she just wanted him; even it was just once, just to **feel**. Lust sparked through her and she snatched Rock's lips in a hard and hunger filled kiss. Rock responded immediately with his whole body.

With eager hands, Revy ripped Rock's shirt out of his pants and ran them up his sides. He shuttered at the contact and that only made her want more. She racked finder nails down his back and that caused him to groan in pleasure; something that surprised Revy. With a wicked grin, she tore his shirt open and the sound of the buttons hitting the floor was barely audible over the sound of her own blood rushing through her body.

In return, he cupped her jean-short clad back-side roughly as he kissed her with even more force.

Moaning her approval, she ground herself into his hips as hands went up to wrap around his neck. She nipped at his ravaging tong and could feel how much he enjoyed it as buzz of pleasure vibrated though his chest. Wanting more, Revy broke their heated and heavy kiss to rip his shirt down his shoulders and onto the floor while she nipped at his ear.

"Revy!" He sigh out in a husky voice; hands coming to her back and shoving her holster off. Her Berettas' fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Finding herself in complete ecstasy, all she could do was shutter happily as his hands came back down and grasped her through her shirt. That did it; now she could feel her body burning up with unreleased pleasure. With a sultry rumble, she grabbed his belt and stripped it away from him with a rough jerk and threw the unneeded item across the room. Kissing him hard, she slipped her hand into his pants to grab him. Rock shuttered into their kiss and Revy smiled a twisted knowing grin. In one swift motion- not even bothering to unbutton or unzip them- she pulled his pants and underwear down past his hips.

Rock groaned as she stroked him knowingly; his eyes rolling backwards in pleasure as his hands fell to hold onto her hip and cup around her backside. Revy tightened her hold and pumped a bit faster; causing Rock's head to tilt back in pleasure.

Patients not being her strong point, Revy let go and started to undo her own shorts. As soon as her hands were done fumbling with her belt, Rock stripped her shirt off in one swift motion and popped her bar in another. Her shorts and panties hit the ground and she didn't have time to react to anything else because in one quick jerk, she felt Rock lift her up. Knowing where he was going- and happy he was going there- she folded her legs around his waist and kissed him roughly. Their tongs wrestled for dominance as Revy tried to slip him into her with the motions of her hips. Frustrated she growled and broke away from his mouth. "Sit. Now!" She commanded in a throaty hiss.

Rock did what she demanded and stumbled backwards into the puffy chair. As soon as he was sitting, Revy unwrapped her legs from his waste and straddled him. Not wasting any more time, she slammed herself down around him. They both moaned in pleasure at the instant and rough connection. The shock of him filling her only lasted a few seconds before she started to rid him shamelessly. Craving more of his body to be touching more of hers, she sat up straighter and laced her fingers in his hair; shoving his face into her chest. Rock's lips snatched her and pleasure tore through her body and out her mouth. With a scream, she pressed his face more firmly into her chest and drove herself onto him even harder. Rock sank his teeth into at her as he massaged other parts; earning another scream of pleasure from her.

"Fuck!" She cried as she her hands tightened and jerked his head more roughly as she continued to ride him. Another moan tore its way out of her as Rock joined her in thrusting. Revy felt him stop his assault on her chest and she looked down; what she saw made her breath hitch and her body burn impossibly hotter. Staring into his eyes, she noticed how much fire and lust they held. Her thrusts faltered and he stood with her draped around him before taking them both to the floor. Now on bottom, Revy had a second to look up into Rock's determined and desire filled expression before he slammed into her. Lost again in bliss, her eyes lost focus as Rock pounded out a rhythm. All she could do was hold onto him as he continued to give her what she so desperately wanted. Without warning, Revy felt Rock lift her leg up and place it over his shoulder. The new angle caused another deep moan to fall from her lips as he grabbed her ass to keep her in place.

"Re-vy!" Rock managed to push out in a groan as his pace grew frantic and he neared his peak.

Pleasure tearing through her and consuming her every breath; Revy found herself unable to focus her eyes let alone think. Rock's frantic pace seemed to match her own desires and as he moaned her name, she found herself screaming her release.

Rock echoed her and come to a shuttering stop.

They both lay on the floor of the office breathing heavy and sweat covered as they rode out the euphoria that follows great sex. After a few minutes, Rock felt focused enough to lift his head from her shoulder where it had fallen. Looking down, he noticed that Revy had her eyes closed and her breathing was still labored. With a very male smile, he slid himself out of her.

Revy shuttered form the motion and opened her eyes to see Rock smiling down at her.

What should have been a moment of realization and tenderness quickly became heavy and awkward. Revy slightly turned her head to the side- not wanting to see all of the emotion in her partners expression that was there. What they had just done was great while it lasted and she had wanted it but now in the aftermath, it was all too intimate. The feeling that washed over her skin from the look Rock was giving her and the content expression her wore made her want to run.

Noticing the change and worried because of it, Rock cupped her cheek. "Revy I-" He was cut off as she pushed him off of her enough to slide out from underneath.

Revy quickly found her cloths and slid them on while Rock sat in confusion where she had left him- at a complete lose for words. "Revy I- what are you…" She headed for the door and he quickly grabbed his pants and slid them on. "Revy, wait."

"For what?" She asked in the most casual voice she could muster as she paused at the door.

Her blasé tone and response clenched his heart. "Don't go." He beseeched softly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged off his touch and replied with her back still turned- in her oh-so-casual tone. "We had a moment Rock; this is like what I was tryin' to tell you about earlier. We just had a **moment**, so don't try and turn it into anything more." With that, she opened the door and left.

Rock stood alone in the office and was again at a loss as he watched Revy walk away on him for the second time that night. He wanted to run after her and tell her that the **moment** didn't have to end. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her that he felt **alive** when he was with her. Tell her that he **lived** for all of the small occurrences between them; that she was the one who woke him up from the dull world he used to live in, and that she was the only thing that made him want to wake up in the morning. With sigh that let out some of the pain he was holding in; Rock closed the door and started to clean up the now trashed living room. With heavy heart, the irony of her words struck him; if all she ever did was live in the moment then he could never hope to truly be with her. The realization stung and he sat down on the couch as he tried to regain his bearings. "Maybe she's right." He mumbled to himself. "I shouldn't try and make this into something it's not. No matter how I feel, there's no way she'll return those feelings."

___

Revy closed the door to her room and grabbed a half full bottle of Bacardi Gold that lay on her floor and grabbed a permanently stained- but now clean for now- gun rag and wrapped it around her knuckles, before collapsing face down onto her bed. With an indigent huff she unscrewed to cap of the bottle with her teeth and took a long pull of the golden-bronze goodness the battle had to offer.

'_Why the hell did you leave?!'_ The little voice in her head screamed at her in frustration.

Revy heave a sigh and took another large swig of the liquor in an ill-fated attempt to shut up the part of her she that made things difficult.

'_Couldn't you hear how hurt he was that you just left like that?!' _

"Shut up." Revy growled at herself as she took another drink. "He's not my problem."

'_Yes he is! You're the one who brought him into this world of the living dead.'_

_Yeah, and I offered him an out too!_

She took another deeper, longer, swig of rum as she continued to argue with herself.

'_Don't be such a cold hearted bitch! He has his down falls but you care about him!'_

Revy let out a sound between a frustrated cry and snarl as she whipped out one of her Cutlass's and shot three holes into the wall near her head. Flipping onto her back, she downed almost the entire remaining half of the bottle before coming up for air. In her frenzied condition she stood and ripped her cassette player off her cluttered desk before tarring off her jean shorts and holster. With one last frustrated shriek, she downed the lingering continence of the bottle before hurling it into the door and falling onto the bed again.


	4. Ch 4 Sear

"Morning, Rock." Dutch greeted from his usual spot in his puffy chair.

Rock looked over at his boss and the image of him and Revy there from the previous night popped into his mind. He fought turning red as he responded. "Good morning, Dutch."

"You feelin' all right? You look a bit red. I know that you're used to the life of a yuppie business man but I keep telling ya that you don't have to be here this early; especially if you need some time to recover from a rough night.

'_Rough,' he doesn't know the half of it._ "Yeah I'm fine, Dutch; thanks for asking. So what's on the to-do list for today?"

Dutch took a second to eye over his employee before shrugging off his gut feeling that something was on his mind. "Just one job; should be an easy one too. We've been hired by a 'legitimate' shipping company to meet them at sea and pick up some not so legitimate cargo so it can then be delivered to a ware house here without them getting their hands dirty."

"Gee, sounds familiar." Rock said sarcastically as he took a seat on the couch.

Dutch chuckled at his off joke. "Sure does, Rock. Anyway; we're scheduled to meet them at 2pm and it's about a two hour ride out, so we're gonna leave her at 11:30 just to make sure."

"Sure, Dutch. I don't see a problem."

"That a boy."

They both sat around for a few hours before Benny came in. After that, they all made small talk, cracked a few of the usual jokes, and shot a few rounds of darts.

"Rock." Dutch called over to his employee who was shooting darts with Benny. "It's about half to departure time. Go wake Revy's lazy ass up and tell her it's time to get goin', will ya? Oh, and tell her to hurry her ass up too."

Rock swallowed passed the lump in his throat- he wasn't looking forward to how Revy was going to act toward him after last night, but waking her up would surly piss her off.

"Hey, Rock! You okay in that head of yours?"

"Yeah, fine, Dutch. I just don't wanna be shot."

Benny laughed. "Shit you're the only one she doesn't shoot at for waking her. Hell even Dutch has almost caught a bullet from her a few times before."

Dutch raised an eye brow. "Did something happen between you two, Rock?"

"No." He lied. "It's fine- I'll go wake her."

"Here." Dutch said as he tossed a beer at him. "Take this and give it to her when you wake her; it might help out." Rock nodded and headed out. "Something's up with them, Benny boy."

Benny gave him a quizzical look. "Think so?"

"Yeah, I do. I don't know what, yet, but something."

OOOOOOO

Rock stood outside of Revy's door for a solid minute before he mustered up the courage to nock. "Revy?" He called as he knocked again. _Of course she's not gonna answer, I always have to go in and wake her._ Taking in a deep breath, Rock opened to door. "Revy?" He heard the sound of glass crunch under his feet and his heart jumped in his chest at the sound. _Shit._ Closing the door, he walked over to her bed and smiled despite himself. She always looked so amazing and peaceful when she was asleep. She was half curled onto her side- like always- and her headphones hand come half off again. He could hear the mettle blaring from them. Still smiling, he reached down and pressed the stop button on the cassette player before reaching over and opening up her blinds. Light spilled across her still body and to him, she looked even more beautiful. He guiltily allowed himself a second to take her in before trying to wake her. "Revy, Revy it's time to get up." He softly announced. She responded with a grown and shifted further away from him. "Revy, wake up." He said again as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Rock." She gowned and pressed her back into his hip.

"Revy, we've got a job." At his words, her body went stiff and he frowned; realizing that her pressing to him was done in a sleepy haze. His mouth suddenly went dry and the air filled with tension. Quickly, Rock stood up and took a step back from the bed. He lit a cigarette and extended his hand with the beer in it to her as she slowly sat up- still not looking at him. "Here." He said to get her attention. She shot him a quick glance and took the beer from his hand. "Don't forget this." He added as he took the smoke from his lips and gave it to her. "We've got a job and we've gotta be out of here in a half hour. Dutch said to hurry." With that Rock turned and left. Once down the hall way, he let out a long breath; relived that he made it out unscathed. Following the feeling of relief however, was a twinge of heartache.

OOOOOOO

"Bout time you got here, Revy."

"Give me a break, Dutch." She replied dismissively. "I'm here three minutes before you wanted to leave."

"Um-hm. Just give Rock a hand untying the Lagoon so we can get going."

"Sure thing, boss." She mocked sarcastically as she got to work.

In a few minutes they were off and the breeze created by the boats motions blew through Revy's hair. She allowed herself the simple pleasure of feeling its caress for a moment before dunking down into the hull. "Jesses Christ, it's hot down here!"

"The cooling unit gave out last night; think I might have shorted it when I was workin' on some other stuff." Dutch informed casually.

"Ah, fuck me! Why can't we just steal Benny's little one for now. It would sure as hell beat this fuckin' feeling."

"Like hell you're taking my cooling unit! Without that all of tech would overheat and fry itself." Benny argued.

"Oh, yeah! Fuck your shit, it's fukin' hot in here!"

"Revy, enough." Dutch ordered. "We're not using Benny's and that's final. Besides, that thing would only cool one room and you need to go check over the artillery on board and clean the stuff you used last time- like I asked you to then."

"Ah shit, Dutch! It's fucking hot down here. I'll do it later."

"No, you'll go do it now."

"Fuckin' hell!"

"Now, Revy!"

Yeah, yeah. I heard you, boss man."

As soon as Revy was out of ear shot, Benny snickered.

"Careful, Benny boy. That'll keep her busy along enough for us to get there but I guarantee you she'll be out for blood after that." Dutch warned.

In less than two hours, the crew managed to make it to their destination. Dutch went top-side with their sun-umbrella and chairs as Rock and Benny followed behind with the cooler.

"I know this area gets hot but this seems ridicules." Rock said as he cracked another beer. The heat was so outrageous that he had even abandoned his usual button up shirt and tie for the time being; lounging around in the white beater he always wore underneath. Even Benny had taking off his Hawaiian print t-shirt and was sitting around in just a tank-top.

With the sun high in the sky and no breeze to be felt, it was hard for any of the men to disagree with him. "Sure does. I'm just glad I'm not Revy right now." Dutch chuckled at his own joke and Benny joined, but Rock found it hard to feel the same humor. Almost on cue, Revy came top-side; taking a few steps before sprawling out on the deck.

"FUCK, it's hot!" She whined as she rolled over and crawled to grab a beer out of their portable cooler.

Rock took in her disheveled state- she was flush and dripping wet with sweat; even her hair looked heat stricken. Dutch had had a fan down below and he had hung out with Benny but Revy was stuck with nothing the whole time. "Revy, you really shouldn't drink that after being down in that heat for almost two hours. It'll only dehydrate you more quickly." He said hesitantly.

She cracked open the beer and chugged the whole thing in a few seconds. "Fuck you." She sneered as she popped open a fresh one with one hand. Drinking the new one with the same hand, she crushed the empty can with the other and threw it at Rock.

Dutch and Benny fought back a laugh as the can hit Rock square in the chest. It only took a few minutes of peace before Revy complained again.

"Shouldn't this fuckin' boat be here by now?"

Dutch calmly took a drag of his cigarette before informing her. "They radioed us; seems like they got caught up in some customs check by a government boat and had to do some finessing. Said they'd be a few hours late."

"FUCK! What the hell, Dutch?"

"Relax Two-Hands, I'm charging them extra for the time. Just sit back and relax, we're getting paid to sit on our asses and drink after all."

"Cheers to that." Benny said.

"It's fuckin' HOT though!"

"You're warring less than any of us are, quit complaining." Dutch joked.

"I just spent two hours in hells fucking sauna! If it wasn't for you fuck-tarts I'd lay her naked!"

"We're not gonna stop you." Benny said teasingly.

"YOU WANNA DIE BENNY?" Revy screamed as she lifted her head from the deck.

Benny shrugged and said what he always did when she threatened him with death. "Not really."

"Ah! Fuck this!" Revy said to herself as she stood and shrugged out of her holster and kicked off her boots.

Rock watch curiously as she then yanked the tie out of her hair- followed up by the motion of undoing her belt. Shocked, Rock had to ask. "Re-vy, what are you doing?" She didn't respond as her shorts hit the mettle deck with a clink from her belt. His imagination started to run wild and his heart began to pound for two different reasons. First, it was at the thought of being able to see her naked again; then in jealousy and irritation at the tough of others seeing her naked. She stepped out of her shorts and he panicked. "Revy?" She threw him the finger over her shoulder as she strolled toward the edge of the ship. Before he could say anything else, she dove over board.

Dutch laughed at his employees shocked expression. "Relax, Rock. Before I found Benny, she used to do this all of the time. Swimming's like second nature to her- next to shooting that is."

Rock walked over to the edge and looked over. "Hey, Dutch; she hasn't come up yet."

"Like I said, relax. Just give her a few more seconds."

Rock waited for what felt like an eternity before a few bubbles broke the still surface of the water- followed by Revy. He felt like all of the air had left his body as he watch Revy come up for air; it was better than any supper-model imposed picture. Her wet hair was slicked back and plastered to her body; her eyes where even half lidded, and the water glistened off of her and around her. The sight was absolutely breath taking.

"Better?" Dutch inquired from his chair before sipping on his beer.

"Much!" Revy yelled back.

Rock noticed the hit of laughter that echoed in her voice and smiled.

"You gonna join her?"

Rock snapped out of his daze and turned to face Dutch. "No."

He raised an eye brow at him and couldn't help but tease a little. "Are you sure? It looked like you were thinkin' about it."

Rock tried not to show how the dirty underlying implication hit it almost right on the nose. "No I fine, Dutch. I was just shocked by how long she managed to hold her breath- that's all."

Both Dutch and Benny held back a sinker at how dirty his words could have been taken. Rock only shook his head and grabbed another beer.

"Hey?" Revy shouted after some time of peaceful silence. "Someone chuck me down a beer." No one responded. "Hey! One of you fuckers throw me a beer, God damn it." Both Dutch and Benny snickered quietly. "Benny, throw me a beer!"

"What's in it for me?" He asked with a twisted smile on his face.

"Fuck you, Benny- you cock sucker!" She shouted back. "Dutch?"

Dutch laughed out loud and teased. "I'm your boss, Revy; if anything you should be getting be beers."

"Yeah, Revy. You want us to get you a flotty to play with while you're swimming around down there too?" Benny added.

Pissed, Revy shot back. "Yeah, I fuckin' do. Why don't you make yourself fucking useful for once, Benny boy!"

Rock broke and stood up; fetching a beer from the cooler and tossing it overboard. They could all hear the beer can hitting the water followed by Revy's attempt to retrieve it before it sank too far down. The two men gave Rock a crooked look. "She was starting to give me a headack." Rock mumbled.

Dutch saw right through his lie and laughed. "Carful, Rock. You keep giving her what she wants like that and she'll never give you any respect." Just as he finished, Revy's voice filled the air.

"Which one of you fucking retard threw that? If I wasn't so fuckin' good at swimming, the beer would be on the oceans floor by now!"

Dutch and Benny laughed as she proved his point to Rock.

Irritated, Rock yelled back. "You're fucking welcome!"

Even though she was shocked that Rock was the one who given her the beer, she still didn't like it when people tried to top her. "Hey, dumbass; watch you're fuckin' tone!"

Rock was pissed now. Storming over to the edge of the boat, he shouted back at her. "No, you watch your fucking tone! I just did something nice for you; a decent person would say thank you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're acting like a real bitch, Revy!"

While both Dutch and Benny were amused by the whole conversation, Dutch knew that Rock was treading in dangerous waters now.

"Alright, cock sucker; you wanna fuckin' dance? Lets do it!"

"Dance?" Rock shouted back with a laugh. "Wow, Revy, I didn't know you knew how to do anything that even resembles anything remotely lady like."

Revy gave a scream of frustration and anger. Rock grinned.

"Hey, Dutch; while I'd love to see where this goes, I think our 'job' is approaching." Benny said as he tapped the laptop screen in front of him.

"Revy! Rock!" Dutch interrupted. "Enough. We've got work to do."

Rock took a deep breath and nodded, but Revy tried to argue. "What the fuck, boss! I'm gonna beat the shit out of this pussy!"

"Not right now you're not; we've got work to do. Or do you prefer not to get paid for this one?"

Knowing the conversation was over with, Revy gave an irritated growl. "Someone give me a fucking rope so I can get out of here."

"Should have figured that one out before you even got in." Benny teased as he headed back into the ship.

"Fuck you, Benny!"

Dutch peered over the side. "He's right, you know. I'm going to the controls; if you don't play nice with Rock while we have company, then there's gonna be hell to pay." Revy only starred back angrily. "Two-hands?"

"Fine. But after that, I don't wanna fuckin' hear it."

"Fine by me, as long as you do your job." With that, Dutch went back inside.

"Dutch, wait! How the fuck am I supposed to get the hell back on the deck?"

Rock stood quietly for a few minutes contemplating before his better side won out and he disappeared into the sip to grab a towel. Arriving back outside, he was surprised to find that Revy hadn't been shouting. Quietly, he peeked overboard to find her floating; starring at the side of the ship in silence. Feeling guilty, even though it wasn't his fault, Rock sigh. "Revy?" He said gently. Her head jolted up and their eyes caught. It was only there for a second but Rock caught a glimpse of self-loathing and torment hidden within her glare. His heart wrenched and he tossed her down one of the ropes they used to tie off the Lagoon. For a second she just starred at it and he thought she wasn't going to take it. Her hands grasped the rope however and she started to climb back up. Cautiously, he stood by and watched in silence. A foot from the railing, Rock heard her wet foot slide against the side of the boat a second she lost her footing. Hearing it before it happened; Rock was ready with his hand out and caught her arm before her face slammed into the metal wall for the sudden chance in weight. Revy let out a 'humph' as Rock caught and pulled her the rest of the way up. Once she was fully on deck, Rock tried to hand her the towel. She just stared at it.

"What the fuck?" Revy asked lowly in a stunned voice as she stared at the out stretched towel.

"What?" Rock asked a bit defensively.

Not knowing what to say or how to respond, Revy just took the towel and walked away.

Shortly after she was done drying off, the ship they were meeting came into view. Rock handled the easy transfer and Revy stood by as the 'gun' while Dutch manned the controls. In under an hour, the transaction was complete.

As Revy watched the ship fade off into the horizon, she couldn't help but be bothered by Rock's actions. Just in one short day she done things to him that she hadn't since they were first partnered together. No matter how much of a bitch she had been though, he had still pulled through with his 'nice-guy' attitude and watch out for her. _Why is he so…. good to me? _"What the hell was that all about?" Revy finally asked him as the ship disappeared into the almost cerulean blue sea.

"What?" Rock inquired, not knowing what exactly she was referring to.

Revy stared at him for a moment before waving a hand dismissively. "Nothing, never mind."

The lagoon started up and they headed back toward Roanapur. As the breeze washed over the both of them, Rock couldn't help but take notice at how the wind played through Revy's hair; of how beautiful she looked as she stared off into the distance. He continued to discreetly gaze at her and a feeling of angst over took him. Rock bit the inside of his cheek as he remembered how wonderful it felt to touch and be touched by her.

Revy could feel his eyes on her. "What?" She snapped.

"Nothing." He lied. "I was just thinking."

She turned her hips with her head, exposing her profile to him, and snorted. "Thinking too much will get you kill."

He shrugged. "Guess it could. But not as quickly as acting on those thoughts."

"Wrong again, Rock. Action and acting keep you alive. It's when you think about what you're doing, or what you've done, that shit goes bad."

"So you're saying I should act on impulse?"

No it was Revy's turn to shrug. "If you have good instincts, yeah."

Rock smiled to himself. _She has no idea that she just indirectly told me to kiss her._

"Now what are you grinning about, moron?"

Rock laughed. "Just thinking about all of the trouble I would get into if I did what you're suggesting."

She raised an eye brow at him. "Stop being so fuckin' cryptic."

Rock let out a laugh and smiled. "Drinks at the Yellow Flag tonight?" Revy was silent for a second too long and Rock worried that he had blown it again.

"Fuckin'-A." She said as her lips twitched into a smile for a second.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

AN: Thanks to all who have reviewed this story and for sticking it out. At this point I FINALLY have an idea of where I am going to go with this story and what will be happening. (Think of this chapter as a need transition chapter.) As such, I wanted to let all of you readers out there know that this will continue to be a Rock/Revy centered piece. However, there will be an interesting and… thickening plot developing that will give the story and the relationships in it much more depth. Reviews, as always, are_ fantastic_ and PM's are always welcome (I will respond and communicate with any persons and PM's who wish to).

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5 Drunken Relaities

The Lagoon pulled into the docks and Revy jumped off and tied it up faster than usual. "You should show that kind of hustle every day." Dutch said sarcastically as he stepped off.

"Yeah but if I did that, then there would be nothing left to impress you with, boss man." Revy replied just as sarcastically.

"There's always you're charming behavior." Benny remarked as he followed Dutch.

"Fuck you, pussy!" She shouted back. "Just for that, I'm gonna spit in your piss-water tonight at the bar."

"Not going." Benny said happily.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Plans."

"Sure; go have cyber sex with that dumb bitch." Revy sneered.

Benny shrugged. "At least Jane and I get each other off. When was the last time anyone did anything for you?" He taunted bravely.

Wide eyed, Revy un-holstered one of her Beretta's in a flash and cocked back the hammer.

"Revy!" Dutch yelled as he grabbed her wrist. "Enough, both of you!"

"Don't worry, boss. I wasn't gonna kill him, just leave a few well placed holes." She said in her flat, dark, voice.

"Benny you dumb fuck, go away before she shoots you." Dutch ordered. Benny happily took his leave and Dutch waited until he was out of sight before continuing. "You cool now, Two Hands?"

"Let go, Dutch. I wanna go drinking."

"Keep it cool, Revy. Benny's started to grow a set even since Jane showed up."

"I should have just put a hole in the bitch the first time I met her like I wanted to." Revy mumbled as she holstered her gun. "You comin' to the Yellow Flag tonight?"

"No can do, I have to fix the cooling unites. You two kids have fun."

With that, Revy and Rock were left alone. "Revy, I-"

"Don't tell me you're gonna pussy out on me too?"

"No… I just figured you wouldn't want to go if everyone else didn't."

"Course I wanna get trashed, dumb ass. Go grab the keys and we'll get the hell out of here; were wasting good drinking time."

"Sure." Rock agreed a bit uncertain and went to retrieve the keys. _Now she acts like nothing happened when earlier today, she was pissed at me. I just don't get it… maybe I really don't mean anything to her? Maybe…._ Rock sigh and grabbed the keys; heading back down as soon as he had them in hand. Spotting the GTO as soon as he left the building, Rock also spotted Revy and his heat skipped a beat. She was leaning back against the hood of the car; her forearms resting to prop her up ever so slightly as a cigarette hung loosely from her lips. She looked like a supper model posing for a car commercial, that or a centerfold magazine layout. He wanted nothing more than to push her the rest of the way down onto the hood and kiss every inch of her.

"Ready?" She asked him casually as she flicked her cigarette away.

Rock found himself at a loss for words as he tried to reply. Instead of making a fool of himself, he just nodded.

The ride to the Yellow Flag was silent and to his surprise, it wasn't awkward. The simple silence was relaxing and Rock found himself smiling. With hopes that the night was looking up, Rock was a bit shocked when he pulled into the Yellow Flag and Revy hopped out and slammed the door shut without pause. Puzzled but not wanting to piss her off even more that she obviously already was, Rock followed silently. She didn't say anything to him as they drank and it only made him less and less sure of himself. Stealing a glance at his partner, he fought back a frown as he watched Revy guzzle her fifth glass of Bacardi like it was water. The longer the silence stretched on between them, the more depressed Rock became and the more he felt like drinking. What had he done wrong? Did he say something to piss her off? Why wouldn't she even look at him now when only an hour ago she had smiled at him?

After a few hours of silence, Rock was broke both finically and in spirits while Revy was drunk. Drunk was an understatement however. Revy was completely and utterly cocked. "Revy," He finally tried for the first time that night. "How about we get out of here? I pretty sure you have enough to drink for tonight and I can't buy us anymore bottles of rum; I'm broke."

"I'ms fuckin' fine, you mock sucker." She slurred out.

Rock rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

Revy snorted in response and tried to lift up the remainder of the bottle to pour more into her glass but almost fell off of the stool in the process. Alcohol sloshed from the glass container and hit the bar top before Revy caught herself and shifted limply back onto the stool so she could sit in a more dignified pose. With a sigh, Rock stood and grabbed her arm; lifting it over his neck and shoulder so he could get her up.

"The fuck you doin'? Where's we going?"

Rock rolled his eyes and wished he hadn't offered to take Revy out to drinking- especially without Dutch or Benny there. The night had been a complete waste and when she got this drunk, she was a pain to take care of. Being a bit drunk himself, admittedly not half as drunk as Revy, wasn't much of a help either.

"Wait!" Revy blurted out when they reached the swinging doors.

"What?"

"My bottles still on the bar. Can't leave it there, it still has liquor in it and it'll be lonely." She said as she tried to get away.

_Lonely? _He smirked. _Talk about being wasted- she thinks the bottle will get lonely. Ha ha._ "Alright fine, can you stand on your own?"

"Ha! I've got this shit. I'm the master of standing."

Rock tried to suppress a grin on her behalf but failed. He let go of her slowly and headed back over to the bar. _If only sober Revy could see drunk Revy. She'd kick her own ass. Although, she is cute when she gets like this… and the hatred that usually lurks in her eyes is more subtle._ Rock turned back around, with Revy's 'lonely bottle' in hand, just in time to see Revy hit the ground in a drunken heap. "Shit, are you okay?" He questioned as he helped, or rather lifted, her up back up.

"I's told you, I's fine."

"Um hmm, of course you are." He retorted sarcastically as he half carried her out the bar doors. Carefully, he eased her into the car and closed the door. The engine started nicely and they were off into the night once again. Other then Revy wanting a smoke, the ride home was just as quite as their ride to the bar. He chanced a glanced over at Revy and found that her eyes were closed; she was cuddling the rum bottle, and had her head resting against the door. Rock smiled. _She looks so incent and well, cute when she's like this._

"Eyes on the road, perv." 

Rock jumped in his seat and shot his eyes forward. _How the hell did she know I was looking at her? I thought she had passed out. Even if she hadn't, she's soo drunk I don't know how she realized. Creepy._ Pulling in front of the office, Rock got out first so he could help Revy out. Her body was limp and it seem like the ride and no alcohol during it, helped to sober her up a little because she was no longer stumbling, just unbalanced. As they started up the stairs, it quickly became apparent that there was no way she was going to make it up them alone. Rock let out a sigh and without warning picked up Revy bridal style and started back up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Rock?" She slurred out.

"Shut up, Revy."

"You know, I'm impressed; I always thought you were a pathetic weakling." She half teased as she placed her arms around his neck.

"Gee thanks." Rock mumbled as he fumbled with the key and door. It took a minute but he finally got it open and carried Revy inside and to her bedroom. He felt her fingers running through his hair at the back of his head and fought back the sigh of contentment that wanted to spill out of his lips simply from her touch. "Hell, Revy, it's a mess in here. How the hell do you live in this sty?"

"It's not that bad, Rock baby." She whispered softly in his ear, causing the words to dance along his skin as she continued to play with his hair.

_Did she just call me baby? I know she drunk as hell but…. what the hell's up with her tonight?_ He shook it off and walked over to her bed- the only thing in the room without junk all over it- and tried to lay her down. His foot caught something though and with an unsmooth stumble and mumbled curse, he wound up on top of Revy, on the bed. _Oh fuck, she gonna kill me!_ She slid her hand up his chest though, definitely not what he was expecting. "R-Revy, what are you doing?" She didn't answer as her other hand continued to ruffle through his hair and the other came up to pull at his tie; and bringing his head down. "Revy, you're-" He could finish, her liquor laced lips were on his. Fighting with himself over morals and desire, it only took a second before Rock gave in and kissed her back. It was great; her lips were soft and the kiss was surprisingly gentle. It was nothing like the night before and he laughed inside. Kissing her deeper, he let his tong slide along the length of hers. He worked her mouth at a slow but fervent pace; stopping only when his lungs demanded fresh air long minutes later. Slipping away from her intoxicating lips for a breath, he kissed her jaw and began to slowly work his way down to her neck.

"Rock…" Revy moaned. "Fuck me."

Rock quickly tore his lips away from Revy as reality smacked him in the face. He looked at her for a long moment. Looked at her glossy kiss swollen lips, they way her chest rose unsteadily and finally her eyes; her usually sharp and challenging eyes that were now clouded with intoxication and lust. _This is so wrong, I can't do this._ With a deep breath, he slid off of her and sat on the edge of the bed, letting out a long sigh in the process. "No. Listen, Revy… why don't you get some sleep. Okay?"

She sat up. "Why?"

Rock buried his head in his hands and gripped tightly at his hair in an effort to keep control over his actions. "You're drunk and don't argue with me about that." He lifted his head and looked at her. "Sleep this off and if you can even remember any of this in the morning and if you still feel the same way, then we'll talk."

Without warning, Revy slammed her lips against his once again. Rock tried to pull away but she grabbed onto his head and held him in place. Conflicted once again over his desire and morals, all he could do was sit there stunned as Revy dominated his mouth.

"Don't be such a fuckin' pussy." She growled roughly as she bit at his lower lip.

It took everything he had in him not to shove her down onto the bed and tare her clothes off. Hell, she was throwing herself at him and even though he was a gentleman, he sure as hell wasn't made of stone. Suddenly, he felt her rub him through his pants and it was enough to shut his brain down. With a sound between a growl and a moan, Rock grabbed Revy by the arms and pushed her down as he slammed his lips against hers. He kissed her like she had him the night before and she kissed him back with the same intensity. Now, it was a kiss of force; nipping teeth and coursing lips tried for more as their tongs clashed and provoked one another. Acting purely on instinct, Rock latched onto her chest with one hand and bit down on her lip at the same time.

Revy groaned in satisfaction underneath him and chuckled lowly. "That's right, big boy."

It took him a minute to register her words but when he did, he stopped. In the blink of an eye, he shoved himself away from Revy and off of the bed. "I can't, not with you this drunk…. Good night, Revy." With that, he left before she could argue.

XXXXXXXX

Rock slammed his door and headed straight for the bathroom. Splashing cold water in his face he yelled at himself. _What the fuck is wrong with you! She's beyond drunk! You're better than that! You were going to fuck her, you sick fucking tool_! Rock turned off the water and without bothering to dry his face off, looked at himself in the mirror. The single florescent bulb that hung from the center of the room seemed to highlight him in a stark and ruthless contrast. His shirt was wrinkled and the top four buttons undone; leaving his tie knot half way down his chest and only adding to his disheveled look. Worse yet, the whites of his eyes sported thin red lines for his night of drinking as heavy tired black bags underlined them. As if that weren't enough, he noticed that he had neglected his hair. There was no denying that he was overdue of a hair cut; his bangs hung down to his nose and it had gotten too long in back too. _ I look like some skater punk wanna-be_. He ran a hand through his hair to try and tame it a bit as he continued to look at himself. It had been three days since he last shaved and he was looking too scruffy for his liking- though Revy always told him it was fine, he stopped look like a twelve year old when he skipped out on shaving. With a shaky breath, Rock placed his hands on the mirror and forced himself to look into his own eyes. He really looked at himself and as he took in his disheveled state further, he noticed how his glare sparked with things he had never seen before in his own face. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He whispered to the stranger starring back at him in the mirror.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Even though I know it is redundant to say so, I am really sorry for the delayed update. I hope all enjoyed this chapter and as always, please let me know what you think because let's face it; reviews are terrific and give a writer inspiration to write more, and to write it quickly. (PM's are still welcome.)


	6. Ch 6 Flavors

So, first and foremost, I would like to- once again- apologize for the _extreme_ delay in updating. (Between taking a course overloaded semester, writers block, life, my sudo-beta not getting back to me, and an extended, research-based, stay in a developing country, I haven't been able to update). On the positive side, I have the next 3 ½ chapters (mostly) done!

Thanks again to all of those who have reviewed and have stuck with me, and this story, so far. Writing is a stress reliever for me and when people review, it just flat out rocks! (I guess I hope that reading fics can also be a getaway for people like writing them can be). So without further delay, here's chapter six of _Right Now_.

Revy awoke from another nightmare with a jerk and a pounding headache. "Fuc-" She tried to mumble but was cut off by the previous nights liquor as it came rushing up from her stomach and out of her mouth like a geyser. With much luck, she managed to puke in an old ammo box she had left by her bed. Knowing there was more to come up she sprinted to the bathroom and nearly fell as she stumbled. After losing it in the toilet a few more times, she sank back against the wall with a sigh. "Better." She mumbled to herself and closed her eyes. Sleep tried to take her again but the taste of bio in her mouth was too much for her to take sober. With a groan, Revy slowly stood back up and grabbed her toothbrush from its teetering resting place alongside the sink. Squeezing a quick messy blob of past onto the brush, she popped it into her mouth and stripped off her clothes. Chewing on the bristles, she turned on the water in the shower and quickly adjusted the temperature. Hands now free, she lazily began to scrub the sickening taste of vomit out of her mouth as she stepped into the faucets' stream. "Fuck!" She swore around the toothbrush that was crammed in her mouth as she was met with freezing cold water. Turning the cold down all of the way and the hot up did nothing to help. "Stupid mother fucking water heater! Fuckin' hate this shit!"The freezing water doing nothing to relax her, Revy cleaned up as quickly as she could and for once was happy for the hot air that met her as soon as she stepped from the shower.

Air drying being her favorite way to dry up, she simply draped a towel around her shoulders to soak up the access water in her hair and walked back into the other room naked. Walking over to her closet for clean cloths, she stumbled over her boots. _Why the hell are those in the center of the floor?_ She thought with a growl. _Come to think of it, how the fuck did I even get back her last night?_

As Revy changed, she tried to remember how exactly she had gotten back to her place and what had occurred the night before. Try as she may though, the last thing she could remember was riding with Rock to the Yellow Flag… and drinking— she defiantly remembered drinking. Trying to remember more anything more however only made her headache worse. _Fuck it; if I wanna know so badly I'll just ask Rock what happened. Rock…._ Her mind started to drift to thoughts of him but she stopped herself. "No, no fucking way." She told herself out loud as she checked her twin Beretta's and slipped them back into their holsters. Determined to distract herself and not wanting to head to the office right away, she headed out the door to go wonder the streets. It took the light hitting her eyes for Revy to notice how early it still was- early by her usual standards at least. "Fuck me." She growled as she took in the suns position and noticed that it was around 10am.

Revy wandered around town until she was no longer aware of how long she had been out for; it was easy to let go and get lost in the empty static that was always a part of her. The 'static' wasn't the easiest place to reach though. It bordered the line between her conscious self and the part of her that took over when she killed. Secretly, she loved that place inside of her, it allowed for her mind to go numb while all of her scenes stayed alert. It was like being at peace with in herself, or what she figured it for any way.

Bread, it was the smell of fresh baked bread with a hint of cinnamon that snapped her out of her staticy peace. It smelled great and suddenly she realized how hungry she was. Looking around for the source, she spotted a small bakery and couldn't resist the urge to go in. The place was smaller inside that it looked and she barely even had room to turn around inside the store. The food cases holding baked goods that lined the walls and few people in the place did nothing to help the tightness of the damn room either. Grabbing a large brown paper bag off the top of one of the counters, she looked through the cases and was surprised by the variety of food. Coming across the last case, she couldn't fight the grin that spread across her face. They had dim sum and almond biscuits. Though she would never tell anyone, almond biscuits were her favorite when she was a brat. Even though it was all overpriced, like everything else in R-, she stuffed the bag with what she wanted anyway.

Silently paying the old man cashier, the killer inside of her watched calmly as the old man registered who she was. The dilating of his eyes and thick swallow giving him away. With noticeably wider eyes and even shaky hands, he carefully handed Revy her change. Taking the money and her bag out the door just as soundlessly as she had come in, she couldn't fight the tinny nagging feeling that something was wrong with what had just happened.

Shaking her head clear, she reached into her bag and with her first bite into the fresh, hot, role all of her troubles seemed to disappear. Feeling a smirk twitch her lips as she walked down the street back the office, she let out a content sigh. _Fan-fuckin'-tastic._

XXXXXXXXX

"Revy, where the hell have you and Rock been?" Dutch asked in an irritated voice as she walked through the door.

"What the hell are you talking 'bout?"

"I need you and Rock and go run some errands; you can't just disappear like that on me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Dutchy." She said as she reached into her bag and tossed him some dim sum. "We cool?"

Dutch felt the corner of his lip turn up for a second as he grabbed the offering of peace out of the air. "We're cool, Revy. Where the hell's Rock though?"

"How the fuck should I know! I'm not his fuckin' keeper!"

"Easy, Revy. Don't be so touchy."

"Whatever, Boss Man." She waved dismissively as she took her usual set on the offices couch.

"So do you have any idea where Rock might be?" He asked as he too sat down.

"Fucked if I know." She answered ungracefully with a mouthful of food. "Check his room, not just knock?" The question seemed to stump the big man for a minute and Revy snickered. "Nothin' like hiding in plain sight."

Dutch shook his head at his own, rather large, oversight and was about to ask Revy to go check but thought better of it. "Keep yourself out of trouble for a few minutes; I'll be back."

With that, Revy was left to herself. _Wonder where Rock is… Did we get that fucked up last night? Even if we did, he should be up by now. Hell, he's usually up before the fuckin' roosters' crow. _The thought of Rock not showing up for work on time made a twinge of concern float through her and she shook her head in protest; the conscious and cynical part of her refusing to think about him. Finding the couch suddenly uncomfortable, no doubt to her minds current focus, Revy got up and retrieved a beer from the fridge in hopes that it would wash away the food in her mouth as well as her current line of thought. Popping the top off the bottle on the corner on the counter, she let the cap fall to the ground. The tinning sound it made as it hit the floor though barely registered in her mind as it was still concerned with Rock.

The sound of someone coming into the office snapped her back to reality.

"He's waiting in the car. The two of you need to go pick up some stuff I ordered from the Church." Dutch told Revy as he took his usual seat in _his_ chair. "I gave Rock the list but make sure you check over everything too, you are the expert in such areas after all."

Revy smiled, she loved getting new toys in. "Fuckin-A."

"One more thing, take it easy on him today."

Revy knew who he was referring to and again wondered just how fucked up they had gotten the night before. "Whatever you say." She answered dully as she walked out— bag of snacks and beer in hand. She didn't miss Dutch shaking his head at her however.

Stuffing another massive bite of biscuit into her mouth, Revy almost chocked on it when she saw Rock inside of the car. "What the fuck happened to you?" She tried to ask around the wad of dough in her mouth.

Rock lifted his head from the steering wheel and started the car. "Booze happened." He replied in a groggy voice.

"No fucking shit." She stated as she took in his appearance while taking a swig of beer. It was obvious that he had slept in all of his cloths- they hung crocked and wrinkled from his body. That fact alone was strange enough but what made it worse was the greasy appearance of his hair and skin. "Rock, you look like a half dead zombie office bitch."

"Gee, thanks." He mumbled without sparing her a glance as she hopped into the passenger's seat and he popped the GTO into gear. The engine roared to life and the headed off toward the Church.

They rode in silence down the streets and Revy could tell that he was trying not to vomit as they drove. At first, she found it funny as hell but after a while, she just felt sorry for him. _How much did we drink? I was a bit of a wreck this morning but Rock still looks drunk and hung over. What the fuck_? After the pity sank in, it only took a few more minutes before she couldn't take it anymore. "Pull over." She demanded once they were far enough into the country side roads towards the church. It look like he was going to question her for a second but she could tell that he thought better of it. The car slowly came to a stop. "Get out."

"Revy, I-"

"I said get the fuck out." She hissed. He did and just like she knew he would, after a few steps he started to lose it and took off running further away from the road. Revy smirked knowingly and shook her head at the same time as she heard him vomiting onto the grass. "Idiot." She said to herself as she popped the trunk of the GTO and started rummaging through things. "Bingo." She said to herself with a shrewd grin as she pulled out a container of baby wipes and a bottle of water. She waited quietly against the side of the car and lit up a smoke until Rock finally walked drearily back toward her. "Better?" She half asked half stated as he approached.

"Uh hn." Rock mumbled as he wiped his mouth one last time with the back of his hand.

"That's fuckin' grouse and you already smell like shit." Revy stated harshly as she popped open the baby-wipe box and handed him one.

He gratefully took it and cleaned off his mouth and hands. "Baby-wipes?" He couldn't help but question.

"Snicker all you'd like but believe it or not, these little fuckers work like a charm. They even get blood and body bits off."

Rock gave a weak smile and threw the used wipe to the ground. Without a word, Revy handed him another. "Here," She said as plainly as she could and tossed him the bottle of water, "You're breath smells like a horror's cunt."

Rock shot her a strange look as he tried to fight back a smile but failed. He gave a single laugh and so did she. "Guess I look like a bum too." He half joked as he tugged at his cloths.

"More like a bum-ass-mofo." She snorted. Rock gave a laugh but even Revy noticed the sad tone to it and tried not to frown. "Clean yourself up so we can get the fuck goin'." She ordered and threw the box of wipes at him. With that she walked away to try and clear her head.

_Why the fuck does it bug me so much when he gets like this! He's a useless dumb ass after all! Fuckin' idiot won't even touch a fuckin' gun! _Frustrated, she lit up another smoke and tried to calm down. With a deep inhale she sighed and turned around only to drop her cigarette in shock. Rock had taken off his shirt and was quickly wiping himself down. Revy tried not to stare as she reasoned with herself. _Makes sense, he does smell like vomit and booze and Yolanda is the kind of bitch to notice just that and give us a hard time. _She licked her lips unconsciously however as her eyes ran over him. While Rock didn't have a bangingly ripped body, he was no longer the scrawny looking office boy he had come to them as. The obvious lines of muscles divided his body in all of the right places and as he moved and her eyes helplessly followed the contours as they rippled and shifted with him. Suddenly, she remembered how it felt to run her hands up his sides, the feel of his bare chest pressed tightly against hers, and the way he shuttered in pleasure when she had ran nails down his back. Revy's breath hitched and she had the urge to replace the wipe he was using with her lips so she could lick and kiss along the finely define lines that made up his body. She didn't even notice that she had started to move toward him until he looked up at her. Revy went still and her urges were replaced with anger. "Hurry up with your horrors bath would ya?"

Startled by her sudden outburst, he nodded quickly. "Sure." Throwing the wipe in his hand to the ground so it joined in with the little mound that had formed there, he quickly picked his shirt back up and worked to do all of the buttons back up. Still dazed and more than a bit hung over, he struggled with his shaking hands to do all of the buttons.

Revy watched irritated by his slow pace but even more so by how she felt kind of bad for him as he struggled. "Hurry the fuck up!" She demanded.

"I'm trying!" He snapped back and regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. Revy's went ridged and she clenched her fists into tight balls as a low growl escaped her lips. Rock dropped his head and cursed to himself. "Fuck." With a deep breath, he lifted his head up to apologize to Revy but the words died in his throat as Revy menacingly glared at him from inches away.

"One more word and I'm gonna break your fuckin' jaw with my foot." She hissed dangerously.

Rock swallowed hard; he knew just by the look in her eyes that she was serious. It hurt his heart to know her words held truth but he pushed to pain aside and nodded.

"Now get in the fuck in the car." She ordered through gritted teeth.

He nodded again and was heading for the driver side when Revy shoved him, hard.

"Passenger seat, dip shit. You need to get your fuckin' self in order before we get there."

Again he only nodded and did as she demanded. The GTO took off with squealing tires and as he righted himself, Rock noticed that he had left his tie behind where they had pulled over. Knowing that there was no way in hell Revy would turn back for it, and that she would probably smack him for even asking, he decided to leave the topic be.

While Rock was trying to get himself in presentable shape, Revy was trying calm herself down. All that had been bothering her over the last few days jumped around in her head. She didn't know what pissed her off more: that Rock hadn't been acting like himself or that the fact bugged her? Was fucking him worse because she enjoyed a good screw or because she relished in the fact that it **was** with him and she wanted more? Did she loath his constant pleasant behavior or like it? What the hell happened last night and did she really want to know? And for that matter, just what the fuck was between her and Rock? Letting out a low growl, she forcefully shut off all of the things running through her mind and focused on the road. By the time she pulled up to the Rip-Off Church, the confusion and ravenous need to shoot and kill to relive the stress had subsided enough to push her back to being just pissed off. Cutting the engine, she hopped out of the GTO. It took her a few more seconds than normal to realize that Rock was still in the car. Trying not to get pissed off and trying not to frown, she tapped on the windshield.

Rock jumped at the sound. Caught up in his own- similar- thoughts, he hadn't even realized that the car had stopped. Catching Revy's glare he quickly got out of the car. "Here," he said hurriedly as he dug into his pocket and handed Revy the list Dutch had given him. "You'll need this before we go in."

Snatching it out of his hand, Revy unfolded it and took a cheap shot at him as she glanced over it. "Way to give it to me before hand, dumbass." She heard him mutter an apology but didn't give a shit as she continued to scan the list. Ammo refills for some of the large caliber guns, a few grenades of different sorts, and a few new clips. It was routine stuff for the most part and she felt a bit better; things tended to get nasty when they ordered something out of the ordinary from the Church. Y_- would always try and fuck 'em over on the price. Turning her attention back to Rock, she extended the list back to him. It was only then that she noticed that he was missing his usual irritating tie and had left the top two buttons of his shirt undone. "Finally trying to go casual, are we?" She taunted.

Stuffing the paper into his shirt pocket, all Rock could do was shrug, "Something like that."

Going around the back of the church, like usual, they said nothing to each other.

"Hey there, Romeo!" A voice mocking called out once they stepped into the church.

Revy couldn't hold back the growl that built in her chest at hearing Eda and even Rock let out a quite sigh. Despite his displeasure, he put on the best business man face he could muster and greeted her back. "Hello, Sister Eda."

Eda smiled. "Wow, I must say, Rocky, I live the new look." She purred with a wink.

Trying to contain her rage, Revy stepped up next to Rock and shouldered him out of the way of Eda's hungry glare. "Hey, bitch, where's our stuff?" She questioned the nun with as much indifference as she could muster.

"Where it always it, you pushy bitch." Eda snapped back.

Wanting to get the fuck away from the Church, and Eda, Revy grabbed Rock by his shirt and hauled them off to the 'pick-up' room. Eda caught up with them however and to Revy's displeasure, continued to bother them.

"You know, Revy, I still find it hilarious that Dutch continues to send you on these little errands. You must have gotten knocked down a few slots in the 'company structure'."

"As if." She snorted. "Benny and Rock don't know shit about this kind a stuff and you bitch's would fuck 'em over."

Entering the 'pick-up' room, Eda laughed, "Maybe, but only Rock here." She purred as her hand reached for Rock and stroked a slow teasing line across his back. Eda was going to slide her hand around his front but in a movement faster than she could register, Revy had the barrel of one of her Beretta's mere inches from her head.

Caught in between the two deadly women and sensing the now dangerous hostility between them, Rock swallowed hard. He opened his mouth to try and calm the situation down but Revy spoke before he could.

"Lay a dirty fuckin' finger on him one more time, skank, and you'll no longer have a hand to touch yourself with." Revy stated in a flat, dark voice.

Rock felt them both tense even further for a fight and was undeniably happy when Yolanda's voice cut through the air.

"Rebecca," Yolanda scolded. "I will not have you pulling guns on any of this fellowship. Holster them **now** and let us conduct business like adults."

Rock heard the faint growl that pushed its way from Revy's closed lips. He was ready for the worst to occur within the coming seconds but to his shock, she jerked her hand away and holstered her gun.

"Rock," Revy barked without even bothering to face him as she spun to face Yolanda. "Once I'm done checking over our order, pay these cunts."

"Such foul language for a young lady." Yolanda scolded again as she pointed Revy to their crate of merchandise.

To Rock's surprise, no one said anything to him as Revy quickly checked the crate. He wondered what Revy must have looked like when she pulled her gun on Eda to make even the usually pushy fake sister leave him alone. _Her emotions are even more of a roller coaster lately…. Why the hell did she do that anyway, a few minutes ago she was pissed at me…_

Shifting the crate onto a dolly, Revy finally turned to Rock. "Pay 'em." She ordered as she started to wheel the crate away.

Nodding, Rock then turned to Yolanda. "Thank you, Sister. As always, it is a pleasure to do business with you."

Yolanda just gave him one of her good mannered laughs. "Take care of yourself, young man, and do be careful with Rebecca."

Rock nodded with a smile and gave a small bow before hurrying to catch up with Revy who had already started to head for the car. As he walked, he tried to make since of what had just happened. He knew that Revy and Eda didn't always get along the best but he had never seen Revy so quick to snap at Eda. The reaction would suggest that she cared about him, but a part of him found that hard to believe after the way she had acted a few nights back- and every time they were together since then. With a frustrated and tired sigh, he looked up to find Revy struggling with the crate as she tried to put it into the trunk of the GTO. "Revy!" He half shouted as grabbed the other side of the crate before it fell from her grasp.

"I'm not a fuck' weakling," she managed to push out as she struggled with the heavy box. "I got it."

"I'm not saying you are." Rock grunted as they maneuvered it into the trunk. "It's just that it's an awkward shape." He tried to sooth as they finally set it in and he closed the trunk; headed for the driver's seat. His only response was her mumbled and undesirable words as she hopped into the passenger's seat. Rock was content to let Revy mumble to herself but after a few minutes of hearing bits and pieces of her complaining, he couldn't help but inquire, "Why do you and Eda have such a… varying friendship? Is it because you don't like the Church?"

Revy shot him what she knew was an unfriendly look.

"It's just that whenever we're there, you seem on edge." He pushed on. "With Eda on the other hand, sometimes you both get along when other times I'm afraid I'm going to get caught in the cross fire." Revy was silent for so long that he figured she was going to ignore him.

"It just…. she doesn't smell like the rest of us, that and her flavor's off… same as the Church's." Revy finally said after a few seconds of thought.

"What does that mean?"

Revy growled; she hated trying to explain instincts to people. "It means what I said."

"So if you don't like the church because of their… flavor and smell, then why do you hang out with Eda?"

"She might be a drunken tramp, but out of all of 'em, I trust her the most. In a fight, as long as we're on the same side, I know she's got my back…."

Rock tried not to show his shock at her confession. Words like that, especially coming from Revy, was a high complement.

"Besides," Revy continued. "She might not smell of gutter mud but underneath all of the whores perfume and that fuckin' habit, she's got a dark flavor." Rock glanced at her for a long moment and she could tell he was trying to understand what she was saying. "Fuck." She mumbled to herself as she took out a cigarette and lit it up. Glancing back up, she noticed that Rock had returned his attention to the road. She found herself shifting uncomfortably in the seat as the little voice insider her head started to talk again.

'_At least he tries to understand what you're saying… tries to understand you. You've gotta give him credit for that. Try to explain it again.'_

"I'm not good at shit like this, Rock." She said after a few more seconds of silence. "How the hell do you explain something that you've always know to someone who's not from the same…. Fuck."

"Revy," Rock said smoothly, now feeling bad for even asking. "You don't have to-"

"Shut up." She interrupted. "Smell is like…. where someone comes from— their world. Flavor's different." She paused again and tried to think of the right words. Taking her eyes off of the passing road, she looked at Rock and found that even though he was driving, he was looking at her too; anticipation and resolve swirling in his eyes. Against her 'better' judgment, she found herself smiling at him and she wasn't even sure why.

A bit thrown off by Revy's calm smile, but liking it none the less, Rock smiled back at her. To his further shock, her smile grew wider and he felt his heart skip a beat. _I can't even remember the last time she smiled so openly like that. God, it's perfect._

"Rock!" Revy suddenly shouted.

He jerked his attention away from her captivating lips and back to the road just in time to avoid driving off of it and into a ditch. "Fuck." He breathed after he had straightened out the car with a white-knuckled grip. Revy's laughter quickly filled the air. Startled by her outburst, he shot his eyes over to her.

"Nice going, dumb ass!" She jeered between laughs. Catching his gaze once again, Revy noticed they no longer held the same look and suddenly, she knew how to explain 'flavor'. Waiting until his eyes were back on the road, she started. "Flavor, Rock, is what a person is. It's what they think about, what they want to do— what their capable of."

Rock swallowed passed the lump in his throat as he listened to Revy. Her tone was flat once again and he knew that if he looked at her, her eyes would be swirling with darkness. "So you're saying that Eda is capable of things that the others aren't?"

"Yes." Revy licked her lips before continuing, "She's more like the rest of us, Rock. Deep down, she's a killer, and a thief, degenerate, self loathing, and loves the smell of chaos and blood."

A long silence filled the air as her words rang through his mind over and over. They wouldn't go away and he knew she was right. "What do you mean **us**?" He asked trying to fight the truth in her words.

Revy grinned to herself; she knew how at odds with himself he always was. "It's an addiction, isn't it, Rock?" She stated more than asked. "It changes everyone, does different things to different people. But this world, our world, only affects those who have a part of it in them to begin with."

"No." He said out loud to himself as he gripped the steering wheel harder. "I'm not like that."

"Bull-fuckin'-shit!" Revy said with an ominous laugh. "You might not wanna admit it, Rock baby, but you know I'm right." She watched him as his hands went white-knuckle around the wheel once again. "You can feel it, can't you?" She whispered as she sat forward to look at his expression. Catching the corner of his eye, she grinned wider. "I can see it, Rock; I can see the edge of darkness working its way further into you."

"Enough!" He finally shouted as he stomped on the cars break. The GTO swerved and skidded off of the road. "Stop it!" He screamed.

Thrown off by his outburst, she didn't know whether to be pissed off or exhilarated. "No." She stated as she took in his shaking form.

"Fuck, Revy!" He growled as he turned to face her. "Enough!"

Revy felt her body tighten as Rock glared at her. _Shit is he pissed off… Fuck his sexy when he's like this!_ She swallowed past her racing pulse and tried to fight the suddenly burning urge to touch him as thoughts of his lips and hands clouded her mind. "Fuck you."

"No," he said shifting over the seat to get into her face, "Fuck you!"

Pissed off and aroused- and even more pissed off that she was turned on- Revy grabbed Rock by his collar and brought their faces so close together they almost touched. "Don't offer up things you can't give out." She growled.

Rock felt his eyes go wide as he remembered the night before; remembered how Revy had practically begged him to fuck her and how even though he knew it was wrong, his still wanted her and had come so very close to stripping her clothing off and ramming himself into her sweet body. Before he could stop himself, his hands darted out and grabbed Revy by her gun harness. Trying to push passed the anger Rock took in a deep breath through his noise and glared back at Revy, waiting for her to make a witty reply or threat. None came however and it took him longer than it should have to realize why. Her chest was moving fast and shallow and her eyes were glazed over with lust. All decent intentions went out the window- along with Rock's careful behavior- as he looked at her. Feeling the 'darkness', as Revy had put it, consume him, he jerking her forward by her harness. Rock held her tight to him as he brought his lips to her ear. "It's you who should be careful what you offer up, Revy. Or don't you remember?"

Revy fought a shutter as his harsh words bit at her. Her body craved his touch and she burned hot for him. Yet at the same time, she desperately wanted to distance herself from him. At a loss for which emotion she should be feeling, she hissed her reply against his hair. "The fuck you talkin' about?"

"Still want to know what happened last night, Two-Hands?"

His words stung and she didn't know why they bothered her so. Perhaps it was that he called her by her 'killer' name? Or was it the menacing tone laced within his voice and the fact that it was aimed at her? "Get your panties out of a twist." She snarled back as she tried to shove him off of her.

Rock laughed at her words, "I believe it's your panties that were in a twist last night, Revy."

"What the fuck does that mean!" She barked as she once again tried to distance herself from Rock.

Struggling to keep her close for no other reason than because she was trying to get away, Rock shoved her into the corner of the passenger's seat. "That when you were shit-faced last night, you begged me to fuck you."

Revy felt her heart stop as the memories came rushing back.

Holding her tight against him, Rock continued. "You see, Revy, you're not the only one who tries to mask their so called 'flavor'."

"Fuck you!" She spat out in a shaking voice. "You don't know a fuckin' thing, god damn it!"

"And you have no fucking clue about me either!" He shot back just as quickly.

Cutting him off before he could say anything more, she let out a growling yell, "All I need to know about you is that you're a fuckin' pussy who's good for nothin' but his white collar shirt and a bad lay!"

"Bullshit!" He screamed back as he forced her against the car door. "That's all bullshit and you fucking know it! Fuck, Revy! Why do you have to push like this?"

"WHY DO YOU FUCKIN' CARE?" She shrieked, and in a movement quicker that the blink of an eye, she broke Rock's hold on her, drew out one of her Beretta's and pinned him to down onto the driver's seat. She was suddenly looking down at him, pressing the business end of her gun into the side of his face.

Rock's heart skipped a beat before it pounder faster. He didn't know whether to terrified, exhilarated, or pissed. Distantly, he realized that he should be afraid but another part of him yearned to taste her anger ridden bullet. Rock blinked quickly at his own thought and when he opened his eyes again, he felt his heart sink. While Revy's face was blank, her eyes were riddled with hate and violence— worse yet were the edge of hurt and regret they held. She looked lost, and it was obvious that in that moment she not only hated him but herself and the whole fucking world. In that moment, he realized that when he was wrapped up in his own anger, he had pushed her too far. "Revy, I'm so sor-"

His vision suddenly blurred and his mouth filled with a salty copper liquid. His first thought was that she had actually shot him. Distantly however, he realized that she had pistol-whipped him instead. Rock's eyes watered from the sudden pain and he fought against chocking on his own blood. Not wanting to cough it up all over Revy, he swallowed it and almost pucked in return. He tried to think, tried to refocus his eyes but it wouldn't work. The pain was worse than any other time Revy had beaten the hell out of him. Feeling the barrel of the gun press painfully into his temple, he was ready for the worst. To his surprise though, he didn't feel fear, just regret and self loathing. He had hurt Revy; he had done something to her that he swore to himself he never would do, and he hated himself for it. Rock tried to apologize again, tried to say or do something to convey his hate for his own actions, but before he could he felt a white hot pain whip through his head just before the world went black.


	7. Ch 7 Pulse

Chapter 7— Pulse

XxXxXxX

Rock felt himself slowly coming around to the feeling of pulsating stings and deep throbbing pains from the right side of his head, mouth, and even neck. Cursing in his mind, he closed his eyes tighter and tried to block out the pain. Of course, it didn't work and it took him a few breaths to realize what was really going on. He could feel, actually feel. _I swear Revy shot me in the head that time_. With his realizations and a now somewhat stable grip on himself, Rock reluctantly opened his eyes.

"Welcome back." A voice greeted from too close.

"Benny?" He asked in an undoubtedly groggy and slurred voice. "What- where the hell am I?"

"A hospital, or doctor's office, or whatever the hell it is you call places that take cash and not medical insurance in underground crime circles."

Refocusing his eyes, Rock tried to sit up more but found that the room spun immediately, "What?"

Benny laughed, "Stitches, bro; you needed some stitches to keep all of your blood in your body."

"Fuck."

"No shit. You should see all of it that you left pooled all over the back of my GTO."

"The back?" Rock questioned, finally sitting up.

"There was some in the front too, but a whole fucking pool of it in back. How are you feeling by the way?" Benny finally asked a bit concerned for his friend.

"Like shit." After taking in a deep breath, he continued, "Sorry about your car by the way."

Benny shrugged and half joked, "Just clean her out and buy me a few beers and we'll call it even."

Rock smiled, Benny was a good friend. "How long have I been here for anyway? Come to think of it, how did I even get here?"

"Well, when Revy came back she stormed in and said, and I quote: 'the stuff's in the trunk and there's some fuckin' trash in the back the needs to be taken care of'. After that she stormed into her room and slammed the door. Dutch and I went down to unload and that's when we found you." Benny paused and Rock could tell he was trying to find the right words. "You were cover in blood, Rock. We thought you were dead. When Dutch found you still breathing… well he was pissed as hell at Revy and when she said that she had done it to you, he flipped his fuckin' lid. I've never seen him that angry before. Long story short, I brought you here and when I left, Dutch was still verbally tarring into Revy while she was screaming at him."

Rock could tell how worried Benny was about everything and he sighed, "I'm sorry, Benny." They were both quite for a while before he finally asked, "Can we get out of here?"

"Sure, but Dutch said not to come back until late tonight. To be honest with you though, I'm surprised that you're even conscious this early let alone feel well enough to move around."

Rock shrugged his eye brows as if to say 'me too'.

Benny grinned, "Drinks?"

He thought on it for a second. He didn't like that Dutch gave them a time frame but was well aware that Revy would need time to cool down. Although a part of him wouldn't blame her if she never talked to him again. "Why the hell not."

Rock put his medical charges, including those for some" prescription" pain killers, under the tab that the Lagoon Company apparently had at the place and figured Dutch wouldn't care as long as he paid for his part. Benny told him that he was right and that most of the charges were from times that Revy or Dutch- but mostly Revy- had been shot or somehow injured more than 'normal'. Getting into the GTO, Rock was surprised that it was well cleaned inside.

Benny noticed his confusion and laughed, "I called someone to clean it up in here while you were in getting stitched up. If that much blood sat it would reek to high fucking heaven and my car would never come clean. But don't worry," he said opening up the glove box and taking out a folded piece of paper. "This is for you."

Rock took it and unfolded it as Benny started the car and took off. It was a bill, a rather astonishingly numbered bill. Rock sighed inside and tucked it into his shirt pocket. _Guess I would charge a lot to if I had to clean some poor sm__o__cks blood up_.

The ride to the Yellow Flag was silent and they drank quietly together for some time. The whole time though, all he could think about was how much he hated himself for what he had said. Revy's hurt look plagued his mind. He wanted to apologize to her. But the question was how? How the hell could he get Revy to listen to him after what he had said? He knew he should be pissed at her for pistol whipping him- and he was- but most of him realized that it was just her way of dealing with things. A smaller part of him though told him he was fucking crazy. Rock wracked his brain trying to think of ways to tell her he was sorry- if he could even get her to listen to him that was. It wasn't until Rock's fourth glass of Bacardi and Benny's fifth beer- complements of Rock- that they talked again.

"I've gotta ask," Benny said after a sip of his beer. "What the hell happened?"

Rock took a sip of his own drink before answering. The liquor still burnt the inside of his split cheek with each mouthful, but it was starting to dull the pain everywhere else. Reaching into his pocket as he thought on how to answer his friend, he retrieved the bottle of pain killers and popped two with another mouth full of Bacardi. He was feeling the effects of the liquor faster than ever before and he realized that it was most likely due to the blood loss and narcotics swimming through his blood stream. "I pissed Revy off." He finally replied.

Benny gave a chuckle that told Rock that that was an understatement, "No shit."

Rock found himself taking another drink, this one not stinging as much as the pervious sip. He really didn't want to share the details but he owed Benny something and knew that Dutch would be asking the same thing. "We were coming back from the Church and we ended up talking. Then I got pissed, then we argued, then Revy got pissed, then we bickered at each other some more, then I was stupid and brought up something just to get back at Revy, and then she pistol whipped me- twice…. I think. That's all I remember."

Benny was about to say something back but a voice cut him off.

"Hey, boys! Where's the big man and that dumb bitch?" A voice called out.

Both Rock and Benny sighed before taking another drink. "Hey, Eda." Rock said as she sat next to Benny.

Eda leaned across Benny and almost fell off of her stool when she saw Rock. "What the fuck happened to you, Romeo?" Rock continued to drink and said nothing back. Getting off of her stool, she went over to Rock and tried to see his face better in the dimly light bar. Taking in is swollen right side and bruises she whistled, "What the hell hit you, a truck?"

"Leave me alone, Eda." He stated, wanting to be alone with his thoughts and not in the mood for small talk with her. His and Revy's argument had started because of the Church after all, and given that this wasn't a business transaction he felt no need to be overly nice.

"Oh come on, Romeo, tell me." She said as she wrapped an arm abound his shoulders.

Irritated that she just wouldn't leave him alone, he shrugged her arm off, "Go have a drink, I'm not gonna talk about shit."

Eda placed her chin on his shoulder and pouted, "Don't be like that, Rocky. Tell me about it and maybe I'll kiss it better."

Anger shot through Rock and he stood up, causing Eda to stumble back in the process. "Hey Benny, I'm going to the bathroom. Flag me down another round?"

Stunned by his suddenly cold demeanor, Benny nodded, "Sure."

Eda flopped down in Rock's seat as she watched him walk away. "So, Benny," She said as she finished off Rock's drink for him. "How's the weather?"

Use to Eda's sometimes odd questions and glad that she wasn't hanging on him like she had been Rock, he shrugged, "No complaints, glad it's not hurricane season."

"Guess you're use to hot weather, being from Florida and all."

Benny felt his eyes go wide; he had never told Eda that. Sure, information got passed around but there was something in her tone of voice set him on alert. "Guess so." He said as casually as he could.

"I heard they have panthers down there. You know anything about them?"

Benny felt his heart miss a beat and fought the urge to run. For the first time in a long time, he wished Revy was around.

"No." He replied and hated that the one word came out unsteady.

Eda's sun glasses slid down her nose as she turned her head to look at him. She narrowed her eyes and stated in a cool, smooth voice, "Don't lie to me, Benjamin."

Benny was about to stand up and make a break for the exit when he spotted Rock over Eda's shoulder. Eda smiled and turned away from Benny. "Thought you fell in, Romeo." She teased with all of the sickeningly sweet honey back in her voice.

Rock glared at her and reached for his drink. Finding it empty he set it back down. "Thought I might sneak out the back but then I realized Benny had the keys." He dead paned. Eda laughed and he looked over to Benny who looked uncomfortable. Figuring that Eda had been hitting on him while he was away, Rock offered his friend an out, "Dutch will be expecting us soon. Ready?"

Relief flowed over Benny and he stood with keys in hand; leaving half a beer. "Sure." He said simply, not wanting to lead on that there was a problem.

Rock dug around in his pocket and slapped some more money down on the bar, "See you, Eda."

"Bye, Rome." She teased as the two headed out. Once the two broke free of the door way, Eda let her façade fall away. Casually, she reached for Benny's discarded and still half full beer. She drank it all down in a few hungry swigs before coming back up for a breath, "See you later, Benny." She whispered to herself before leaving.

XXxxXXxxXX

Benny willed his breathing to slow and focused on acting his normal self as he and Rock walked through the back lot of the bar to retrieve the GTO. It wasn't easy; his mind was screaming at him to run while his body agreed and twitched to achieve enough distance to escape the impending danger that was sure to come. Fumbling with the keys to the door, he forced himself to take a deep breath in an ill-fated attempt to regain some of his nerves. Finally getting the door unlocked, he slid in, popped the other lock for Rock and started the engine. Sparing a quick glance over to make sure Rock was in he popped the car into gear and fought the urge to floor the gas pedal. He was glad for Rock's silent behavior because he was sure that if the man next to him had actually tried to carry on a conversation, he wouldn't be able to shove his own thoughts aside long enough to give a coherent response.

How the hell had Eda found out? How much did she know? What did she want from him? Did the Church know too? Just what the fuck was he going to do now?

No longer concerned about the time and the possibility of walking in on a fight between Dutch and Revy, Benny drove straight home with the hope that he could figure something out. Reaching the office in what felt like record time, he and Rock walked together in silence up the stairs. Reaching the 'main' floor, Benny stuck out a shaky hand and patted his friend on the back. "Night, man." Rock muffled back something too un-comprehendible for him to understand as he shoved the door open to the office.

Now alone, Benny hurriedly fumbled with his door and, not even bothering to turn on a light, dashed for his closet. Tearing things out of his way as he throwing them over his shoulder, he felt his blood pressure spike even higher as the small metal lock box finally came into sight. With trembling hands, he managed to slip the six digit code in. Letting out a strangled sigh, he lifted its only inhabitant out and took it into his hand.

Stumbling over to the light switch, he flicked it on, flattened out his grip and glared in apprehension at the gleaming gray disk case that now claimed the width of his palm.

XXxxXXxxXX

And the plot thickens! Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it was shorter than usual but it was necessary for the flow of the story. I'd love to hear more feedback so please review, or PM, and as always, I will get back to you (it may take longer than usual though as I will am taking a spree of the moment trip/adventure). Thanks again to all of the fantastic people who have left me amazing reviews; even the 'please update' types of reviews have been fantastic.

~ C. Fixation


	8. Ch 8 The wrong feels right

To Rock's surprise, Dutch wasn't around when they came back and Benny simply said goodnight as he headed to his room. He couldn't shake the feeling though that something was wrong with Benny. Having his own problems to deal with though, he shoved the thought aside and tried to think on how to handle the whole situation with Revy. Hell, he didn't even know where she was.

Frowning and taking a seat on the offices couch, he ran a hand through his hair. Try as he may, he just couldn't think of a damned thing to say to Revy when he saw her again. Despite his utter lack of verbal creativity, the nagging feeling that he needed to see her regardless just wouldn't go away. Placing his other hand to run though his hair in unison with the first, he tried not to growl in frustration or rip out his own hair. Why the hell couldn't he think of anything to say? Moreover, why did he even want to? Revy had pistol whipped him and left him to bleed out for fucks' sake! What was the point?

He clearly had some sort of masochistic feelings for her— while she seemed loath every part of him and life in general. So why the hell did they always seemed to come back to each other?

If she insisted on fighting such little things when it came to whatever the fuck was between them, then what was the point? He hated himself most of the time lately and being around her just made him question himself even more. "She makes me-! She drives me crazy!" Rock growled in pure frustration and practically jumped off of the couch. He couldn't stand sitting around anymore; he had to move.

Hitting the door on the backside of the building in a hurried walk, he sucked in a deep lung full of fresh air and instantly felt a little better, a little less trapped. Walking in a slow daze, he mindlessly walked towards the water's edge.

Approaching the docks and the Lagoon, Rock felt his hear skip a beat.

Revy sat at the stern of the old boat, bathed in moon light.

He wanted to be mad, to feel something terrible but as he gazed upon Revy, all he knew was that he wanted to make all of it better—his problems and hers.

As he moved closer, and even with her back to him, he noticed that her legs were pulled up toward her chest and her hair was let loose. The sight of her as she came into a better view made his stomach jump in anticipation. He knew he should be focused on his apology but all he could think about was how beautiful she look, and how the nights light would illuminate her face. Stopping at the edge of the dock, he waited to see if she was going to say anything to him because he knew her well enough to know that she knew someone was waiting for her.

Revy felt Rock's presence from half way down the dock and she didn't know what was worse: that he had come to see her or that she knew it was him from so far away? She closed her eyes as he approached and tried to squash all of the unwanted feelings that swam through her. She tried to suffocate the guilt of her actions under justification, the self hatred under aversion, and the hurt under hatred. She could feel Rock standing at the edge of the docks now and she clenched her hands into fists as she tried, willed, every negative emotion to take control. It was starting to work too, she could feel all of the anger, hatred, and aggressions win out as Rock silently stepped aboard the Lagoon and halted a few feet behind her.

Coming aboard the ship, the first thing he noticed was the nearly empty bottle of Bacardi that sat next to Revy. While an entire bottle would be enough to make the average person stumbling drunk, he knew that one bottle just put Revy in a more 'comfortable' state of mind. Still, he hated to see her drink as a way of drowning unwanted memories or thoughts. Uncomfortable with the silence, Rock tried to break it, "Hey." He said and hated it as soon as it left his lips. Revy said nothing and it surprised him; he had thought that she would be shouting death threats at him right now. Shifting uncomfortably in his spot, Rock tried again, "Revy, I don't even know where to begin. Saying I'm sorry isn't enough, but I don't think anything I could say would be." He paused and tried to think, he hadn't thought of much to say so with a deep breath, he tried for the truth, "You were right."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Revy growled before she could stop herself. His gentle tone and unease was making it hard for her to stay mad at him, a fact that only served to enrage her more.

"That I've always had a part of this dark world inside of me. That Roanapur has begun to bring parts of me to the surface that I'm not comfortable with. You were right, I can't..." He took a shaky breath and tried again, "I can feel it, Revy, the darkness. It's like the waters of the ocean: sometimes the tide comes in so close that it threatens to swallow you whole, while other times it's something off in the distance that has nothing to do with you. The real problem though is that it's unpredictable and uncontrollable, you never know when the tides might change and take you with them off into the dark waters." Rock sighed, he could feel the tension work its way further into his body as if just talking about 'the darkness' mad it just that much more real. "Lately, it feels like it's always high tide and there's a storm brewing just off the sore. I don't-"

"Enough." Revy growled. Forcing herself to breath, she swallowed passed the pain in her chest that threatened to tear her apart as she listened to his little confession and felt the pain and uncertainty in his words. She just didn't want to hear any more and felt that with each damned word he spoke, he was drifting that much further into her world. While a part of her reveled in being right and at the prospect of him becoming something she could relate to, another screaming part of her wanted it all to be lies; wanted for Rock to stay away from the darkness, from Roanapur, and from her…. she was too submerged in all of it be of any help to him…. or to be anything he could ever truly want. What drove her even more insane was the fact that she was even thinking about his 'own good'. Why the fuck should she care?

There were a few minutes of long pain filled silence before either of them spoke again.

"If I could?" Rock beseeched in as soft of a tone as he could muster, believing that her angry tone was aimed at him.

At hearing the gentle and almost caring tone in his voice, Revy snapped; she just wanted him to shut the fuck up so she wouldn't be forced to think about him. Whirling around while maintaining her sitting position, she was ready to punch Rock but stopped dead as soon as she saw him. Even in the darkness of the night, she could see how swollen the side of his face was; the bruised and bloodied ridges were impossible to miss and she could tell how badly he hurt. She had done one hell of a number on his face. Revy also noticed how tired and upset he looked even under the carefully blank face he was trying to put on. God, she hated that she had done that to him. Try as she may, Revy just couldn't form words or even move as she starred up into the face of her partner.

Noticing her hesitance and the conflict raging in her eyes, Rock jumped in, "Revy," He cooed gently as he kneeled down to be eye level with her, "I could never hate you."

"Why?" Her question came out too soft for her liking and she cringed at her own tone.

That was a good question— why, how? Sure he could admit he had feelings for her but why did he know down to the very core of his being that he could never truly hat her? "How do you know _?" he asked with a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

Again, Revy just answered and a part of her hated how easy it was to talk to him, "I just do."

Rock felt his smile spread when Revy so freely gave him the answer he was looking for. Sometimes, it was so easy to be with her. In a split second though, her expression changed and she sprung at him; pinning him down to the deck, her waist straddling his as her hands held his shoulders down. Confused, as he always seemed to be around her lately, he stared up at her.

"You're real fucked up, you know that! I don't know what the hell's runnin' through that fuckin' head of yours but its wrong- you're wrong." She barked out in low and dangerous voice. He still looked at her though with those God damned serene eyes of his and she growled, "Run, Rock. Leave and go back home to Japan. Take the opportunity you didn't all of those fucking months ago and get the fuck away from me."

Rock was in no sense of the word an idiot and he knew Revy was just trying to push him away but there was a truth in her tone that he could almost taste. It didn't matter to him theoug, he didn't _want_ to go. "No."

"Leave, now!" She snarled as the hands pushing his shoulders down did so with more force.

He tried not to flinch and show her that the way her hands and fingers dug into him actually hurt, a lot. "This _is_ my home, Revy."

She screamed, screamed wordlessly in ragged anger as she fought back simultaneous urges to both kiss and hit Rock. Her yells hitched however as she was rolled onto her back; Rock now looking down at her.

Giving her serious and unguarded eyes, he slowly bent his head down to nuzzle the good side of his face against her check, "This is my _home_, Revy. It has been even since that day in the marked when you tried to shoot me." To his astonishment, she just lay still beneath him and he found himself smiling, "You know, I never felt like I belonged in Japan, even as a child it never felt right."

Revy struggled to remain focused- and angry- as his whispered words blew shivers down her spine and his facial hair pleasantly tickled her skin. She was relived though that her words came out as strong as ever, "That just proves my point, dumbass. If you never belonged in Japan and since you sure as hell don't belong here, then you should fucking leave and move on."

"Revy," Rock scolded in a gentle tone as he caressed her cheek with his more firmly, "Stop being so difficult."

She shivered as he moved his skin along hers and she knew he felt it too. That was it; there was no fuckin' way she was going to stick around. Grasping his hips with her knees and thrusting her hands into his chest, she rolled them back over so she was on top and then rolled off of him; leaving Rock to lie alone on the deck. Getting to her knees with a triumphant smirk Revy was stunned when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, pinning her arms to her sides as legs straddled her hips and pinned her legs into her kneeling position at the same time pressure was applied along her calves. It took her a split second longer than she would ever admit to realize that Rock was the one trapping her as he mirrored her position for behind. Not wanting to be close to him for any reason, and worried of what she might do, she tried to break free. The more she struggled though, the faster she realized that unless she was willing to seriously hurt Rock, there was no getting away. Against what she always considered her better judgment, she stopped struggling.

"Please," Rock tried again. "Just listen for a minute, let me try and say this." When she didn't struggle, he let out a small sigh of relief and let the good side of his face rest alongside hers once again. Falling to his desires for just a second, he breathed in her scent and allowed himself to realize just how much she was like the waters the currently floated upon. "I've been fighting myself lately and while I'm not exactly sure who I am anymore, there are a few things I've never been more certain of." Knowing a declaration of his feelings would create a complete disaster, he chose his words carefully, "I like living here in Roanapur with Dutch, Benny, and you. Today, I was a complete and utter asshole and I deserved what you did to me." He felt Revy open her mouth to say something and spoke quickly before she could, "Just wait…. While you frustrate me and push me to the breaking point sometimes, I could never hate you." He licked his lips in an unconscious effort to stall before he said the rest, "If you never want to talk to me again I'd understand, but if you'd allow it, I would like to continue being your partner, Revy."

Revy tried to be angry and hate him, tried to tell him to go fuck himself but she could taste the truth and pain in his words and just like a few nights before, she wanted to make it all go away. Blinking away the though, she realized that she could win this; all she had to do was tell him no, to go fuck himself and to stay the fuck away from her. Hell, she could even tell him that she never wanted to see him again and she knew he would comply with her wishes. When she turned her head to do just that though, her body betrayed her. In a quick jerk, she snatched his lips with hers. The angle was bad though and she just ended up kissing his rough check and the split corner of his lip. Unable to control her own body, she twisted in his grasp just enough to get a full kiss. Not getting the response she wanted right away, Revy moved her lips against his in a swift rhythm that held aggressive force. She could feel her teeth dig into her lower lip from the pressure but even that wasn't enough to make her back off. Inside, a part of Revy purred happily at the contact while the other swore at her in screams— cursing her for being so weak. Angry at both parts, she pressed herself harder against Rocks lips and felt him whimper in pain. Growling, and not sure why, Revy was about to bite down on his lip when he finally returned the kiss.

She let out a triumphant rumble that quickly turned into a faint moan as Rock parted her lips with his tong. His gripped loosened just long enough for Revy to free her arms and twist herself into a position that offered a better angle for the kiss before his arms once again closed tightly around her. Now able to move her upper body, Revy moved one hand to hold Rock's hip as she reached up with the hand and wove it through his hair; bringing him down even further in hopes of deepening the kiss. Dropping her head back to rest on Rock's shoulder, a victorious moan rumbled in her chest as she finally got the deep and demanding kiss she wanted.

Knowing what she wanted, Rock responded by nipping her upper lip before diving back into her sweet mouth with twice the intensity he had before. She still tasted of rum and he found himself loving the way it mixed with her natural flavor. His tong fought with hers for dominance in the kiss and showing her usual self, Revy pushed her tong harshly against the inside of his split cheek. Letting out a stifled howl of pain, Rock tried to pull back from the kiss but found that Revy's hand that was woven through his hair kept him from doing so. Forced into staying in the kiss, he refused to respond as she dominated it; though his hands didn't leave her body- just loosened. Thinking the way he usually did- and everyone chastised him for- Rock knew the chances of winning anything against Revy using brute force were slim to none. He chose the passive route, hoping that it would work. He wanted her to know that she didn't have to be rough and crude with him. Wanted he to realize that he wanted more than just 'pound-me' fucking, he wanted her. And perhaps, he needed her, at some level, to want him too.

Revy smirked in victory as Rock took the submissive role. Her grin quickly turned into a frown however when he stopped responding all together. To her ill-surprise, his sudden inaction took all of the pleasure out of the kiss. Drawing out of the kiss, Revy looked at Rock and found a thin line of blood leaking from the corner of his lips. A sudden swirl of emotions kicked back up in her and her mind screamed in frustration. _Bastard! How dare he?_

'You're forcing him, telling him he's not good enough.' The little voice in her head answered.

_He's not! _She screamed back at it_. He's a weak and useless piece of shit!_

'If that's what you truly think, then you're not good enough for him!'

As soon as Revy pulled her lips from his, Rock watched her silently. He knew she was lost in deep thought about something; she always got the same glazed over, distant, look in her eyes when she was lost in her own mind. While he didn't know what she was thinking about, he hoped that when she snapped back to reality, she wouldn't run from him again. He prayed that he hadn't pushed her away by being so forceful with his end of the kiss, or too quick to stop it.

Revy blinked and found Rock staring at her, his patient and concerned eyes looking directly into hers. Mentally and emotionally exhausted, Revy simply dropped her head from his shoulder; reusing to look at him and too defeated to push away. A few painfully silent seconds stretched by before either of them moved or spoke.

It was, as was becoming habit, Rock who made the first move. Slowly he moved hands down her body and took his legs off of hers. Shifting Revy's shoulders until the rest of her limp body followed, he scooted on his knees and met her half way so they were now face to face. Rock hated the way she felt limp in his hold as she refused to look at him, it was so out of her character that he worried that he had somehow pushed her over the edge just as he had earlier in the day. Afraid to say anything, he simply cupped her jaw with his hand. Feeling her head sag against his touch, he daringly tilted her chin up until he could see her face once again. In a smooth and quick movement, before he lost his nerve, he dipped his head in and kissed Revy. He pressed his lips to hers with enough force to show that he wanted her but not so much to be construed as aggressive. He had intended for it to be one simple, closed mouth kiss, but her lips against his felt too good for him to stop. Pulling back just enough to free her lips, he gave her the opportunity to say 'no' but when she didn't he couldn't help but kiss her again.

Keeping the rhythm slow and the kiss deep but not demanding, he tried to tell her everything he was too afraid to in words through his touch. It took a few seconds, but Revy kissed back and to his delight, it matched the slow and purposeful rhythm he had set. Rock felt a wave a relief and euphoria wash over him as Revy played her tong along his and her arms came up to hold onto to his shoulder blades. Not wanting to release the gentle contours of her face, he used his other hand to wrap around her waist and pull her closer. She responded immediately by rubbing her chest against his. He couldn't hold back the pleasure filled groan that fell from his lips and into their kiss. Blood now on fire and with new found courage, Rock thrust his hips into hers and was rewarded with a throaty moan from his partner. To his gratification, she ground against him and with the wonderful friction it created against his now half hard sex, Rock had to tare is lips away from Revy's in order to catch his breath. Unable to control himself, he thrust himself against her again as she continued to grind against him. The action caused them both to let out deep moans and he missed what Revy said.

"What?" He managed to ask through a hazy mind.

"Below deck. Now." Revy grunted again as she continued to work herself against Rock. She couldn't believe that she had even said it, or that she was even doing this again with Rock; all she knew was that the little irritating voice inside her had somehow torn away a part of her carefully constructed walls and that in that moment, she didn't care. She just knew that her heart was racing as hot blood pumped through her, and that every nerve in her body screamed for the man in front of her.

Rock's mind kicked back in at her words and he froze for a second. Yes, he wanted Revy, but did he want her bad enough physically right then to risk her trying to hide from him again later? He searched for eyes for some sort of answer or sing but found them a slit in pleasure. He must have taken too long to respond because Revy looked up at him and slowly cracked open her eyes. That's all it took: looking into her swirling hazel eyes he had his answer— he could see the truth and need in them. Through the haze that clouded both their eyes and minds, he recognized the complicated need they held and the shimmer of untold emotions that flooded them and balanced on some invisible teetering point. In that brief moment, Rock knew that if he denied Revy what they had already begun, that she would never again open up to him in any way. Jolted in panic, Rock ceased Revy's lips once more in a quick, searing kiss before he stood.

Breathless from the kiss, Revy blink and looked up to find Rock smiling brilliantly down at her with his hand extended. Before her mind could tell her not to, she reached out and took it. She didn't think it was possible, but Rock smiled wider and as he drew her up, he planted another kiss on her lips, a kiss that she found herself quick to return.

Sensing the heightened desire in their bodies, Rock felt the urgency as carnal craving retook his body and he relinquished his mind to it. Hearing Revy's stifled moan of pleasure drove a low growl from his lips and he kissed her deeper despite the pain it caused his swollen face. Drawing away sharply, he opened the hatch of the boat. Half way down, he look up to see Revy right behind him— closing the hatch. The view of her ass as she came down inspired a whole new thought and unbeknownst to him, his grin turned devious. Three steps from the bottom, he stopped Revy's decent by climbing back up onto the last step. He gripped the railings and pressing his body along hers. Knowing Revy was into some things' that 'normal' people would consider wrong for sex; he slowly slid one hand between her chest and glided it up to her throat to grip it firmly. Pressing his now hardened length against her back and butt, he simultaneously nipped her ear.

Revy's breath hitched at the unexpected dominance Rock was now displaying and her desire increased tenfold. Arching into him, she pressed herself more firmly against his length. As she did this, he pressed his thumb and forefinger harder against her racing pulse. "Rock!" She couldn't help but moan as he bit at her ear again.

His name on her lips- extenuated by her gasp- was better than the sweetest music in the world and he couldn't help but moan her name back. Unable to contain himself any longer, he released her throat despite her whimpered protest and let his hand travel down her toned stomach before it undid her belt. In one smooth motion he dipped his hand into her panties. Revy bucked against his hand and the unexpected movement almost caused him to fall from the latter. Unwilling to stop just yet, he held on tighter and began to gently stroke the length of her wet lips. Feel just how exited she already was, he let out an exited moan of his own and couldn't help but groan at the way his fingers easily slid between her smooth, wet lips. Applying just the right amount of pressure, he worked his hand and fingers faster along her. With Revy's breath already becoming labored, Rock could no longer contain himself, "Turn around." He growled, stepping off of the ladder and pulled Revy's shorts off as he spun her around.

"What the fuc-" She couldn't finish though, Rock was hoisting her legs up and she was forced to grip the ladders sides tightly to keep herself from falling. Thinking that he was simply going to wrap her legs around his waist, she was puzzled as he stripped her shorts and panties from her in one piece and lifted her legs higher still. For Revy, time slowed down once her hips passed his chest and she realized what was about to happen. Feeling Rock's hands move along her bare thighs to gently grip her ass as her knees where lifted over his shoulders, she trembled in anticipation. Now looking down at Rock and meeting his eyes, she felt her heart speed to even faster rates at the blazing heat they held.

There were so many emotions swimming in his determined gaze that she didn't want to understand.

The intensity of the moment dawned on her in a slow sort of brilliance and a part of her buried subconscious tried to scream to her about the gravity of what was about to happen.

Rock smiled and not wanting to wait any longer, dove into Revy with a long, wet, lick. The deep shuttering moan that burst from her chest set Rock over the edge and he began to work her with his tong; creating slow rhythmic designs.

"Fuck!" Revy wailed as she tried desperately to maintain her hold on the ladder.

Revy's cursing only egged him on even more and he was already lost himself in her amazing taste. Truth be told, he loved the taste of women; not just their upper lips, but their skin and juices. He had been dying to try Revy like this for a long time and now that he finally had the opportunity, he was quickly drowning. At first lick, she was a bitter spice, but the after taste was a sweet so lingering that he couldn't stop himself from wanting more. With a hard stroke, he earned another long curse from the pirate above him.

"Fuuck!" Revy shrieked as she threw her head back and gripped the ladder impossibly tighter— instinctively thrust her hips against Rock's mouth. Rock drew her most sensitive nub into his mouth in a hard suck and she felt her body tighten all over as her mouth fell open in a silent scream. Unable to catch a breath she looked down to Rock and as soon as their eyes made contact, he released her. Taking in a sharp breath, she was unable to tare her gaze away from Rock's intense eyes. Gasping for air, she didn't have time to ease her breathing before he did it again. This time, the movement of his mouth and tong was quicker, harder, and it all came in a rush of pleasure that stuck her like a bullet. Completely lost to pleasure, she was unaware of the vice like grip her thighs were creating around Rock's head, or of the way her hips were impulsively bucking against his mouth and thrusting tong. As his tong moved back up to work her clit again, Revy lost it. Every nerve in her body went pleasantly numb right before the hard strike of her organism hit her with such incredible force that she lost her grip on the ladder.

As Revy came against his mouth, Rock's eyes rolled in delight. Revy was a rain-maker. He moaned with her as she twitched and happily lapped up her plentiful juices. So caught up in her exquisite taste, he barely even noticed that Revy was slipping off of the ladder in her post-pleasure haze. Moving his grip from her well toned cheeks up to her perfectly curved hips, Rock slowly backed away and let Revy's body slide down his chest: her juices leaving a wet trail all the way down.

With her hips finally level with his, Rock supported her lower half with one dipped arm as the other held her chest to his by supporting her back. With Revy limp in his grasp and her ragged breaths coming harshly against his ear, he realized just how small and light she really was. Sure, she walked around half naked all of the time but her personality cast such an impressive shadow that she seemed much larger and physically sizeable than she really was. His name mutter from his lips snapped him out of his musings, "Yeah?"

His only response was her deep and still slightly ragged breathing. Smiling to himself, he slowly lowered them both to the ground and laid her flat on her back. Her blissfully slackened expression caused his smile to widen before he pressed a chased kiss to the underside of her jaw.

Still exceptionally sensitive, Revy couldn't stop her breath from hitching as Rock ran his lips against her. "Rock." She breathed again and offered her throat up to him. She felt him take her offering and to her thrill, he dragged his teeth along the length of her throat. Her helpless whimper came like breath and she shuddered uncontrollably as he slowly explored her body. She was too far gone to pleasure to care about how helpless and docile she seemed- and really was- at the moment.

Rock glanced at his partners face and tried not to stare too long but her slackened expression was just too captivating. He had never imagined seeing the fiery and dangerous killer so calm and passive- especially while being half naked under him. Seeing her eyes try to flutter open though, he quickly turned his attentions back to her body as to not get caught admiring her in such a state. With his eyes now fixed on Revy's body, he had what felt like all of the time in the world to fix his eyes on every single inch of tantalizing flesh: all of the time in the world to explore her every curve, scare, and smooth plane.

It was far from the ideal place, but in that moment, Rock knew that he was going to take all the time he could with the captivating women who lay beneath him.

Grabbing the ends of Revy's shortly cropped tank-top he made sure to push it slowly up her body; following its ascent with gentle kisses, playful nips, and wet licks. To his pleasant surprise she followed his motion and with her eyes still a slit; lifting her arms to slide along the cool surface of the metal floor and up above her head. Slipping her tank-top and bra off all at once, Rock was once again awestruck by the sight before him. Trying desperately to control his own carnal urges, as gently as he could, he took one of Revy's perfect, round, smooth, globes into his hand and flicked his thumb over her hardened nipple. She hummed happily below him and again he tried to remain in control of himself. Dipping his head back down, he locked his lips around the same nub and flicked his tong over it again and again. He switched irregularly between gentle caresses and hard flicks until Revy's gasps and sighs were shrill and too much for him to take. He had to take himself away before he lost control— something that he had no desire to do just yet.

It's said that it is only in a rare perfect moment in persons' life that time itself seems to stop existing and for Rock, in that cold, dark and dingy space, everything became so surreal and time became irrelevant. He explored every single inch of Revy: from her perfectly toned ass that he just wanted to squeeze, to her flawless and pillow-perfect tits, to her palm-curved hips, and flat, strong and scared stomach. Even the silky smooth insides of her thighs, rippling shoulder blades, and rough fingertips that ran relentlessly along his body enticed him and made every breath come to him like a dream. It was her taste though, and even her smell. It was the way her gravelly voice had gone even harsher with lust and want that sent Rock head first in oblivion.

One moment he was clothed and the next- somehow- he was naked and entering Revy's slick and wanton body. He grunted blissfully and she gasped in delight. Her hands found the back of his head and finally he gazed into her eyes; finding that he never wanted to look away. He bent down to kiss her and the change in angle caused him to slip out from her just enough to cause them both to shutter pleasantly. A thought crossed his mind and her grinned. As his lips finally touched hers, he thrust up. He felt her moan vibrate down his throat and his body tried to push impossibly further into her. Running his tong along hers and letting hers stroke his, he slowly pulled himself out of her and he drew his tong away from hers only to thrust both inside again at the same time. She bucked beneath him he knew she enjoyed what he just did. More than happy to please her in such a way, he did it again. He kept thrusting his hips in time with his tong in a slow, methodical, and oh so erotic way. With each plunge he ate her moans; sound and feeling that only drove him on more. Eventually though, his lungs began to scream for air, a need so powerful it over rode the lust burning through him.

Breaking apart with a gasp, they locked eyes again and Rock was lost once more. It wasn't until Revy moaned in loss and rocked herself against him that he realized that he had stopped moving.

Thrusting slowly but purposefully into Revy once more, he made sure to keep the eye contact between them. Soon though, he lost the ability to openly gaze and his eyes became a slit with pleasure and passion he had never known. The way she felt, the way she made him feel, the way she writhed and thrust with him. The subtle sting of her nails digging into him, and the vice-like grasp of her thighs around his hips as she drove herself around him. It was the heady aroma of their sex riding the air like a thick perfume, and the distinct sounds of flesh meeting flesh. It was her moans though; her moans and screams that filled the hull of the ship with ever increasing pitch that caused him to forget everything but the current thrust, the newest scream, the loudest curse.

Fighting to keep his steady rhythm for what felt like an eternity, he finally succumbed as Revy dug her heals into his lower back as she drew nails compellingly down his back while biting into his collarbone.

Their thrusts were now harder, faster, and their pleasure filled sounds impossibly louder. Revy moaned something but it was so punctuated with gasps that he couldn't understand it. Taking it all to mean more, rougher, quicker, he did exactly that. The next thing her knew, Revy's eyes shot wide open and she threw her head back in a silent scream as her wet walls clamped soo tightly around him that he too lost control. Her bliss filled shriek occupied the air once more and in that instant, he followed her into the same orgasmic, blank, bliss.

Coming slowly back to reality, Rock realized that he had collapsed onto Revy. Using the little bit of strength he could gather, he rolled clumsily off of her and onto his back beside her. The cold metal that met his back made him shiver and shocked him into thinking a little bit better— a little more like Rock he knew. With still ragged breaths, he managed to crawl over to the crate in the far corner that held some emergence supplies. Weakly shoving the lid off, he fished around with his hand for a second and retrieved the blanket that was inside. Crawling back, he grabbed his abandoned shirt and brought that too back to where Revy still lay panting. Crudely sprawling the blanket out to span as far as it could, he covered the floor with it and then scooted Revy onto it in an effort to keep her damp body from the cold metal.

The feel of hands and arms moving her caused Revy to slowly peal back from her post-sex high enough to realized that Rock was situating her onto a blanket. Freely smiling at his true and gentlemanly gesture, she didn't resist and even rolled into his guiding arms. Coming face to face with her partner, she didn't bother hiding her smile as she placed a dry-lipped kiss on his lips.

"Always a fuckin' gentleman." She teased with a gruff tone before giving him another chase kiss.

"So?" He teased back in a breathy voiced that was slightly more even hers.

Revy laughed, she couldn't help it. As Rock laid a hand on her cheek though, all joking stopped and he kissed her. His lips took hers in a soft press with gentle rhythm. Content and still feeling the dreamy haze of orgasm consuming her thoughts, Revy simply enjoyed the ride.

XXxxXXxxXX

Hope the long chapter and quicker-than-usual update make up for all of the times I have dropped off of the face of the earth on all of you readers. Next chapter will get back to Benny and finally get some back story on him! The story picks up from here at it will be one twist after another.

As always, reviews are soo appreciated.


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